Property Law and Energy Law: One Academic's Perspective

Abstract

I I ntroduction My academic career has spanned over 41 years, spread over eight countries. The areas that have most dominated my teaching and writing have been property law and energy law. In my opinion, these areas complement each other very effectively. Property law is of ancient origin and is, of course, one of the mainstream common law subjects. It covers a broad range of topics, from ancient ones, such as the law of perpetuities and future interests, to modern ones, such as the law of restrictive covenants and residential leases. In nearly all common law jurisdictions its evolution over the centuries has been slow and ponderous, and has been beset by the continued application of ancient principles. These made sense at the time of their initial development and operation, but in the modern era they have operated unjustly and inappropriately because of changing societal values. I will develop and illustrate this theme later. Energy law is a much more recent development. Unlike property law, its content is not consistent between common law jurisdictions, but tends to vary according to the energy mix of each jurisdiction. Energy law courses originated in specific courses on oil and gas law, which developed in the late 1960s and 1970s. The courses later expanded to include additional topics due to the increased use of other energy technologies (such as nuclear energy, renewable energies and energy efficiency), and the recognition of the impact of energy production and consumption on the environment.