Projects & Research
听
PEEL Community Law & Policy Repository
The 麻豆视频 Washington College of Law's Program on Environmental and Energy Law (PEEL) has created a repository aimed at highlighting faculty, student, and alumni publications to spotlight the wide array of scholarship that the PEEL community contributes to legal discourse.听听
PEEL warmly invites submissions of scholarly articles, blog posts, briefs, op-eds, and book chapters pertaining to various legal domains, including animal, biodiversity, energy, environmental, and water law, among others, for inclusion in the repository.
If you are an alumni, and you would like to submit a piece, please fill out this. Likewise, students eager to contribute to the repository are encouraged to fill out this submission.
Join us in building a rich database of legal scholarship within the PEEL community!
View the repository here:
麻豆视频 WCL Global Toxics & Human Rights Project听
A joint initiative with the Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law and Program on Environmental and Energy Law, the Global Toxics & Human Rights Project leverages partnerships with a broad coalition of stakeholders to provide technical assistance, strategic planning, case support, advocacy, awareness raising, and standard setting. The Project also builds on 麻豆视频 Washington College of Law's (麻豆视频WCL) specialized knowledge and experience in environmental justice and supporting UN mandates to enrich the work of UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights professor, Marcos Orellana.
Professor Orellana has been actively engaged in various international events and initiatives over the past months, including but not limited to:
- In February, Professor Orellana participated in the Sixth Session of the UN Environmental Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya.
- In March, he convened consultations at the annual meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York, focusing on his forthcoming thematic report on gender and toxics.
- In April, he organized a special session on access to environmental information during the Third Meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Escaz煤 Agreement on environmental rights in Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Santiago, Chile.
- In May, he conducted a country visit to Ecuador, addressing issues related to hazardous substances and human rights, including extractive industries, agrochemicals, and public consultations.
- In June, he delivered a keynote at the US national conference on PFAS in Ann Arbor, Michigan, participated in the final negotiating session to establish a global science-policy platform on chemicals, wastes, and pollution prevention in Geneva, and presented on nuclear legacies and human rights at the 3rd Environmental Peacebuilding Conference in The Hague, Netherlands.
Faculty Student Joint Research听
Professors Snape and Hunter provide a diverse range of captivating research projects, allowing students to pursue their passions, align with their career objectives, and refine their research and writing abilities. In the previous academic year, students were fortunate to engage in the following enriching projects under their guidance:
- Building a Legal Database in Conservation Easements
- Endangered Species Act at 50 鈥 The ESA at 50, Environmental Law Reporter, 54 ELR 10101-10113 (February 2024).
- Guide to Principles of International Environmental Law
- Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) - Advisory Opinion on the Climate Emergency and Human Rights.听
- IRS conservation easements and endangered species protection听
- Revitalizing a Forgotten Treaty on Nature Protection - Convention on Nature Protection and Wild Life Preservation in the Western Hemisphere
- Research Working Group On The UNEP Plastics Pollution Treaty Negotiations
- Willow amicus brief 鈥 Filed in August 2023 (regarding the international law implications of a massive U.S. fossil fuel sale on federal public lands) in federal district court of Alaska.
- FIFRA Article: Codifying Prior Informed Consent to Govern Unregistered Pesticide Export, ABA Natural Resources and Environment, Vol. 38, No. 3 (Winter 2024) at 28-32.
- Advocating for Environmental Justice and Protecting the Patuxent River Under the Clean Water Act | Earlier this year, with the help of 麻豆视频 WCL and PEEL students and faculty, Horizon Land Management, a Crofton-based property management company, faced over $1 million in fines from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The fines were imposed for the company's excessive dumping of pollutants into the Patuxent River and its tributaries via their wastewater treatment plants. This initiative featured student-led advocacy, supported by mentorship and litigation guidance from 麻豆视频 WCL and PEEL professors. This joint research initiative aims to address such violations and ensure the health and safety of the river and surrounding communities.
Support Research For The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR)
In October 2023, PEEL received a generous donation aimed at establishing a dedicated research team to support the Secretariat of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) in their ongoing work on an Advisory Opinion on the. The IACHR is expected to issue one of three Advisory Opinions this year, along with the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal Law of the Sea. Together, these three Advisory Opinions will rewrite the rules of international responsibility for climate change.
The IACHR Advisory Opinion is in response to a request jointly submitted by Chile and Colombia on January 9, 2023. The request seeks to clarify the scope of States鈥 human rights obligations stemming from the climate emergency. The research team, composed of law students and expert researchers identified by the Court, will provide confidential research support to the Court. The project is organized by Professor David Hunter, and will give participating students a unique role in developing the linkage between human rights and climate change.
From April 22 to April 25, 2024, members of PEEL's research team attended the Inter-American Court of Human Rights' first public hearing on the pending Advisory Opinion on the Climate Emergency and Human Rights in Bridgetown, Barbados. The hearing featured representatives from over 60 delegations, including states, international organizations, and NGOs, discussing international environmental law and the human rights implications of the climate emergency. Read more,.