You must be enroled in the JD program in order to qualify.

Any enroled JD student may take a course listed as an Environmental Law Option course. However, JD students who wish to receive formal recognition for having completed the Environmental Law Option, which consists of a notation on their transcript, must complete the following requirements:

1. complete the compulsory course (3 units);
2. complete at least 9 units from a list of core courses;
3. complete at least 6 units from the list of optional courses; and
4. complete the major paper requirement.

A minimum overall average of 6.0 in the 18 units is required and includes the mandatory course and the best results in the optional courses.

Compulsory course: (3 units) (in either French or English)

• CML 3369 Environmental Law
• CML 3769 Droit et environnement

Core courses: (9 units from the following list)

Courses may not be offered every year

First year option courses:

Students can only register for 1 of these, which must be taken in 1st year. If the same course is offered both as the First Year Thematic course and also as an upper year course, that course may only be taken once by the student.

• CML 1105A - Climate Change and Legal Change (3 units)
• CML 1105H - Natural Resources (3 units)

Upper year courses:

• CML 3180 – Environmental Law Clinic (3 units)
• CML 3161 - International Environmental Law (3 units)
• CML 3163 - The Law of the Sea (3 units)
• CML 3180W - Environmental Law Clinic (3 units)
• CML 3182 - Water Law (3 units)
• CML 3173 - Law-related Internship: IUCN Academy
• CML 4114 - Planning and Environmental Assessment Law
• CML 4106 - Studies in Private Law: Toxic Tort Law
• CML 3374 - Law and Society: Animals and the Law
• CML 3251 - Legal research and writing
• CML 3351 - Legal research and writing: Public Interest Research projects
• CML 4130 - Natural Resources Law
• CML XXXX - Environmental Law Moot (course code to be created)
• CML 4134A - Studies in Environmental Law: Sustainability and the law.
• CML 4134J - Studies in Environmental Law: International Wildlife and Conservation Law.

• CML 4914C – Law and Climate Change / Droit et changements climatiques (Bilingual Seminar)

• CML 4914J – Droit de l’eau/Water Law (Bilingual Seminar)

Optional courses (6 units from the following list)

• CML 2104 Real Estate Transactions
• CML 2504 Les transactions immobilières
• CML 2312 Administrative Law
• CML 2712 Droit administratif
• CML 2301 Aboriginal Peoples and the Law
• CML 2701 Les autochtones et le droit
• CML 3203 Municipal and Planning Law
• CML 3503 Droit Municipal
• CML 3510 Bioéthique, santé et droit
• CML 3371 Introduction to Intellectual and Industrial Property
• CML 3771 Introduction à la propriété intellectuelle et industrielle
• CML 3901 Selected problems in Aboriginal Peoples and the Law/
  Problèmes choisis de droit autochtone
• CML 4104 Studies in Public Law: Public Interest Advocacy
• CML 4105 International Trade Regulation
• CML 4107 Studies in Business Law: International Corporate Governance
  and Social Responsibility
• CML 4108 Studies in International Law: Transnational Corporations, Human Rights and International Economic Law
• CML 4150 Globalization and Law
• CML 4162 Advanced Aboriginal Law
• CML 4163 Comparative Indigenous Rights
• CML 4200 Law and Current Problems in Global Poverty and Public Policy
• CML 4343 Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals and Intellectual Property
• CML 4508 Études en droit international: Droit international économique
• CML 4508 Études en droit international : Arbitrage international
• DRC 4760 Droit, médicine et biologie
• DRC 4762 Droit des autochtones

With permission from the coordinator students can choose one of these courses as an option course depending on the topic (to be approved by the coordinator)

• CML 4102 Current Trends in the Practice of Federal law
• CML 4502/DRC 4589 Thèmes choisis de droit administratif: Développements récents dans l’administration de la justice fédérale
• CML 4108 Studies in International Law: International Investment Law
• CML 4108 Studies in International Law: The North American FreeTrade Agreement (NAFTA)
• CML 4108 Centre for trade Policy and Law Course on Strategic Trade Policy in Context: Canada-CARICOM
• CML 4113 Selected Problems in Legal Practice: Written Advocacy
• CML 4150 Globalization and law
• CML 4504/DRC4731 Études en droit public: Droit et santé publique
• CML 3374/DRC 4731 Law and Society: Public Health Law
• CML 3374 Law and Society: Access to Health Care
• CML XXXX Droit et Société: Accès au Soins de la santé (côte à venir)
• CML 3509 Introduction au droit de la santé
• CML 3512 Théorie et pratique en droit et justice sociale
• CML 3112 Social Justice Law
• CML 4132 International Humanitarian Law

Courses outside the faculty (as optional courses): exceptionally, with permission from the coordinator and the course professor. Students may wish to consider courses offered in the following programs: Environmental Studies, Environmental Sciences, Geography, Philosophy, Economics, Biology, Engineering, Political Science, Sociology, and others. 

IMPORTANT: You must be currently registered in the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law JD program in order to register for the Environmental Law Option.

Do I register for the Environmental Law Option before I have completed all the requirements?

No. There is no special procedure to register for the Environmental Law Option during the regular annual admission process. Once they have completed their first year of legal studies, law students may take the compulsory and optional courses required to satisfy the requirements of the Environmental Law Option, including a Major Paper in an approved course. Once the requirements have been met, students should follow the procedure below.

Registering for the Environmental Law Option once you have completed the requirements

1. JD students who wish to receive formal recognition of an Option in Environmental Law must complete 18 units in the field of environmental law. (See requirements).
2. Once the required units have been achieved, students should obtain the registration form.
3. Students must complete the form to identify which qualifying courses they have completed and to identify their Major Paper.
4. The form must then be signed by the Environmental Law Option Coordinator, and returned to the Common Law Student Centre for processing.

A major paper must be completed in the compulsory course, a core course or an optional course as defined above. The major paper may also be completed in a Directed Research course: CML 3251 Legal Research and Writing (Selected Problems) (4 units) or CML 3351 Legal Research and Writing (Selected Problems) (3 units), approved by the Option Coordinator. The paper must represent not less than 50% of the final mark.