THE SPECIFICS OF TEACHING ENVIRONMENTAL LAW: CONCLUSIONS FROM THE UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR’S EXPERIENCE

The article gives the academic and methodological features of teaching and learning environmental law in Ukraine. The main focus of attention is on analysis of methods, techniques and means of teaching (considering the author's 25-year work experience as a university professor) used for giving lectures, seminars and supervising students' individual work. The problems of studying environmental law in Ukraine include: a heavy curriculum; a small number of credits; a vast number of laws of different legal force; constant changes in legislation, emergence of new branches of environmental law; the necessity of at least basic understanding of fundamental environmental categories, etc. A major problem with teaching environmental law is students' lack of interest in studying it. Throughout the years of teaching environmental law, the author has developed her own approach to delivering lectures. The above-mentioned objective factors do not allow for elaborating on all the environmental laws during lectures. The main objective of lectures is to develop students' legal environmental awareness, their knowledge of the system, structure, and development prospects of Ukrainian environmental legislation, their understanding of the ultimate aim of legal environmental regulation and the “spirit” of the law. In-depth study of environmental law during tutorials can be achieved by using various interactive methods of teaching: business games, brainstorming, “case-tasks”, discussions, simulations, analysis of specific situations, etc. It is important to understand the complexity of the interaction between environmental and economic interests in society, its conflict-based nature, and the necessity to reach a sensible compromise between the economic interests of industrial enterprises and the environmental interests of certain individuals, groups or society.