Apart from their assigned mod courses, 1L students may only enroll in courses offered as 1L electives. A complete list of these courses can be found on the 1L Elective Listings page. 1L students must use the 1L class number listed on the course description when enrolling.
294.78 sec. 1 - Climate Displacement and International Law. (Spring 2027)
Instructor: Kathryn J Jastram (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only | profile)
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Units: 1
Grading Designation: Credit Only
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meetings:
Th 6:25 PM - 9:05 PM
Location: Law 110
On 2027-02-11
F 3:10 PM - 7:10 PM
Location: Law 110
On 2027-02-12
Sa 09:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Law 110
On 2027-02-13
Sa 1:30 PM - 5:10 PM
Location: Law 110
On 2027-02-13
Course End: February 13, 2027
Class Number: 33185
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 0
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 35
As of: 10/29 08:05 PM
As climate change and disasters become more apparent each day, there is growing awareness that many people must flee their homes and, in some cases, their countries as a result. This creates a legal gap, as people displaced across borders in the context of climate change or disasters are not generally considered to be refugees under international law. At the same time, people who do fit squarely within the refugee definition are increasingly unwelcome, with many developed countries in particular seeking to minimize, if not evade, their treaty obligations to refugees. In this rapidly evolving legal and political landscape, how can we reconcile a retreat from protection with a growing need for international solutions?
This class will explore efforts to date to address cross-border climate and disaster-related displacement, drawing on international and U.S. law. We will examine the rationale for having an asylum system in the first place, as well as its critiques: who benefits, who is left out, and why? We will explore the emerging jurisprudence of international and regional (Africa, the Americas, Europe) refugee and human rights law on climate and disaster displacement. We will then look at how human mobility is addressed in the context of climate change law. We will also reflect on the different ways that international law evolves. After this grounding in the international law framework, we’ll turn to the United States and assess litigation, legislation, and administrative measures that could position the United States to step up to this challenge. This class is an excellent introduction to the law, policy, and politics of a critical humanitarian, climate justice, and national security issue. There are no prerequisites.
Kate Jastram is a Christopher Edley, Jr. Lecturer at Berkeley Law, and Director of Policy & Advocacy at the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. She has worked for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and for the Department of Homeland Security, and served as an expert on asylum for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). She is active in the leadership of the American Society of International Law and now serves on the Executive Committee of its International Refugee Law Interest Group. She won the Arthur C. Helton Human Rights Award from the American Immigration Lawyers Association in 2005, with the interdisciplinary team that wrote the USCIRF expedited removal study.
Her scholarly work has been published in the Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law, Santa Clara Journal of International Law, International Journal of the Red Cross, and Journal of International Criminal Justice, with book chapters in Climate Change, Migration, Gender, and the Law; Environmentally Displaced Persons eBook; Critical Issues in International Refugee Law; Migration and International Legal Norms; and Refugee Protection in International Law. Her most recent work is International Protection for People Displaced Across Borders in the Context of Climate Change and Disasters: A Practical Toolkit (with McAdam, Gilbert, Wood, and Navarro), 2025.
We also have special academic rules for these condensed courses:
- Students must attend each course session and cannot attend any course session remotely (even for illness or emergency situations).
- Students who cannot attend every session must drop the course.
Exam Notes: (P) Final Paper
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Course Category: International and Comparative Law
This course is listed in the following sub-categories:
Environmental and Energy Law
Social Justice and Public Interest
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Class materials may also be available on bCourses.berkeley.edu
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Books:
Instructor has indicated that no books will be assigned.