Director

Honorary Director

Professor Patricia Wouters (PhD) is founding Director of the International Water Law Academy, serving as its Director from 2019-2025, and now as Honorary Director. She also founded the China International Water Law programme (Xiamen 2012), the University of Dundee (Scotland) UNESCO Centre for Water, Law and Policy (2007), and the International Water Law Research Institute (University of Dundee, 1997). Professor Wouters (Canadian, Belgian)(BA, LLB, University of Ottawa, Canada; LLM, Berkeley, University of California, USA; DES, PhD, University of Geneva, IUHEI, Switzerland; Research Fellow, Max-Planck Institute, Heidelberg, Germany) has published extensively on the international law related to transboundary waters, supervised many LLM and PhD students, served on numerous advisory boards, including most recently the Board of Governors for the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), and provided expert advice to the World Bank, UN agencies, national governments and water-related institutions.

Current Research Interests: public international law, state responsibility, rules of international law that govern transboundary waters,

Dr. David J Devlaeminck is Associate Professor at the School of Law, Chongqing University, Associate Research Fellow at the United Nations University – Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS) and Co-Chair of the American Society of International Law Asia-Pacific Interest Group. His principal area of interest is international environmental law, with a focus on the law of international watercourses. He has published widely on the subject, including his monograph, Reciprocity and China’s Transboundary Waters: The Law of International Watercourses (Routledge 2021). He is also editorial board member for RECIEL and for the Springer book series Water Security in a New World. Apart from his research, David also conducts teaching in international environmental law at the undergraduate and graduate levels and is coach of the Chongqing University Jessup International Law Moot Court team.

Current Research Interests: public international law; international water law; Asia-Pacific

Advisory Board

Dale Campbell is an affiliate of the International Water Law Academy. She has over 35 years of experience working on projects, publications and policy initiatives with various international organisations: the FAO China Office, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), a task force of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED), the Asia Programme of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the European Commission. Dale has worked on issues related to water governance, climate change, agriculture, desertification and biodiversity conservation. She has an MSc from the University of London and an LL.M in International Water Law from the UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science at the University of Dundee in Scotland.

Dale Cambpell

Owen McIntyre is a Professor at the School of Law, University College Cork (National University of Ireland), where he serves as the Director of the LL.M. (Environmental & Natural Resources Law) Programme and as Co-Director of the Centre for Law & the Environment.His principal interest lies in the field of (International) Environmental Law, with a particular research focus on International Water Law. He has served as the inaugural Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law's Specialist Group on Water and Wetlands, as a Panel Member on the Project Complaints Mechanism of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and on the Scientific Committee of the European Environment Agency. He has been appointed by the Government of Ireland to the Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board. He holds visiting positions at Wuhan University, Xiamen University, the University of Dundee, and Charles University Prague. He serves on the boards of several international journals and is the General Editor of the Journal of Water Law.

Alistair Rieu-Clarke is a Professor of Law at Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK. He has also held positions as expert and/or member in various international organisations and associations, including the International Water Resources Association, the IUCN Commission of Environmental Law, the University Partnership on Water Cooperation and Diplomacy, and the UK Arts and Humanities Peer Review College. Alistair has over 20 years' experience in teaching, research and consultancy related to international water law. 

SU Yu is an Assistant Professor of International Law at Xiamen University, where he is a member of the Chinese International Water Law research group. His work focuses on public international law, international watercourses, and China’s transboundary water relations.

Current Research Interests: theories of lawmaking, climate change and international watercourses, non-state actors, China's transboundary watercourses

Affiliate Members

Ana Maria Daza Clark is a Lecturer in International Law at the University of Edinburgh, Law School, and an Affiliate member of the International Water Law Academy. Her research and teaching focuses on International Economic Law, covering International Investment Law and Arbitration, WTO Law, International Water Law, and Management of Natural Resources. She has done extensive work on the relationship between Investment Law and Water Resources Management and Regulation. She is Programme Director of the International Economic Law LL.M at the University of Edinburgh, and provides expert advice to governments, foreign investors and international organisations.

Michael Hantke-Domas  is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law and Government at San Sebastián University (Chile), Vice Chair of the Water and Wetland Law Specialist Group at the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law, and affilliate member of the International Water Law Academy (IWLA). Dr. Michael Hantke-Domas is an internationally recognized lawyer for his professional and academic practice in water law, environmental law, and natural resources. He has more than 25 years of experience acting as a judge, academic, lawyer, public servant, international official, and consultant.

Current Research Interests: international environmental law, environmental impact assessment, biodiversity, environmental damage, environmental justice, judiciary, international water law, national water law, wetlands, ecosystem services, regulatory frameworks, public policy, and comparative law

Barbara Janusz-Pawletta is an international law expert with a focus on water and environment, passionate about environmental research and education, with the working experience of the last 15 years in Central Asia and previously in her homeland, Poland. Currently, Barbara serves as IWMI Country Representative – Uzbekistan, and Head of the Regional Representative IWMI Office for Central Asia. She is also a member of the International Law Association and the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law.

Dale Cambpell

Lingjie Kong is Professor of International Law, and Associate Dean for Research and International Cooperation at the China Institute of Boundary and Ocean Studies of Wuhan University.

His principal research interest lies in peaceful settlement of international disputes, with a focus on the settlement of territorial, transboundary water and maritime disputes. His research areas cover the law and practice of the International Court of Justice, the law of acquisition of territories in international law, the law of international watercourses and the law of the sea.

Christina Leb works as Lead Water Specialist in the World Bank Group Water Department, focusing on transboundary water management. In her prior positions she served as Senior Counsel at the Environment and International Law Department (LEGEN), advising on water law and public international law and the Bank’s policies on projects on international waterways. She was also Program Manager of the Central Asia Water Energy Program (CAWEP) and worked on several other assignments related to water resources management and transboundary water governance in Africa and South and Central Asia. Prior to joining the World Bank, Dr. Leb worked at the Faculty of Law of the University of Geneva. She is a Research Fellow at the Platform for International Water Law of Geneva University and an affiliate member of the International Water Law Academy (IWLA). Her publications on the topics of international water law and transboundary water governance include among other monographs on “Data Innovations for Transboundary Freshwater Resources Management: Are Obligations Related to Information Exchange Still Needed?” (Brill, 2019) and “Cooperation in the Law of Transboundary Water Resources” (CUP, 2013).

Fozia Nazir Lone · PhD, is an Associate Professor and Associate Director of the Public Law and Human Rights Forum at the City University of Hong Kong. Her research focuses on international law, with specific expertise in international water law, human rights (particularly minority and women's rights), and Asian perspectives on sovereignty and territorial disputes. She is a prolific author, with recent publications in leading journals such as the Journal of Water Law, the Emory International Law Review, and the Chinese Journal of Comparative Law. Her most recent edited volume is "Human Rights and Gender-Based Violence in Asia: A Comparative Critical Analysis" (Routledge, Nov 2025). Prof. Lone is an active member of several international associations dedicated to water law and resources, including AIDA and the Natural Resource Law & Governance (Turin, Italy).

Current Research Interests: International Water Law, with a focus on Asian Water Security and Governance, Public International Law; International Human Rights Law; Critical Approaches to International Law (TWAIL)

Bjørn-Oliver Magsig is a Senior Lecturer and Associate Dean (International) at the Faculty of Law, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, where he focuses on public international law, climate change law, and the securitization of natural resources. His current research explores pathways towards cooperative sovereignty and shared responsibility in a changing global order. Bjørn-Oliver has led various interdisciplinary projects on the socio-legal challenges of managing transboundary natural resources. He serves on the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law and the board of Lawyers for Climate Action New Zealand Inc (LCANZI), and is an Associate of the New Zealand Centre for Public Law.

Melissa McCracken currently holds the William R Moomaw Assistant Professorship of International Energy and Resource Policy at the Fletcher School at Tufts University and is an affiliate faculty member with the Program in Water Conflict Management and Transformation at the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University. Melissa is an emerging young scholar with a growing body of research and teaching experience in the field of international waters, specifically focusing on conflict and cooperation over shared surface and groundwaters.

Dr. Salman M.A. Salman is the Chair, University of Khartoum Council, Sudan. He is a Distinguished Honorary Member, and Fellow, with the International Water Resources Association (IWRA). Formerly, he was the editor of Brill Research Perspectives in International Water Law (2016 – 2021), served as the World Bank Water Law Adviser (1994 – 2009), and was the co-director of the Hague Academy of International Law session on Water Resources and International Law in 2001. He is the co-recipient of: (i) the IWRA Crystal Drop Award (2017), and (ii) the World Bank, Law, Justice and Development Alumni Award (2023). Dr. Salman earned his LLB from the University of Khartoum, Sudan, and holds an LLM and JSD from Yale Law School. He has published widely in the field of water law and policy.

Susanne Schmeier is a Professor of Water Cooperation, Law and Diplomacy at IHE Delft – Institute of Water Education and Utrecht University. Her research focuses on conflict and cooperation dynamics over shared natural resources and the environment, with a particular interest in shared water resources. She studies the legal and institutional mechanisms that prevent or mitigate conflict and foster cooperation. She is also the International Waters Panel Member of the Global Environment Facility (GEF)’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) and advises governments, international organizations, and various stakeholders on water cooperation and supports negotiations and conflict resolution.

Photo taken by Ariella Wolf Photography. 

Dale Cambpell

Zaki S. Shubber is a lawyer specializing in national and international water law, and conflict resolution. She is currently Senior Counsel in the Environmental and International Law Practice Group of the World Bank’s Legal Vice Presidency. Previously, she practiced corporate, finance, and aviation law in London and Geneva. Zaki has also served as a Lecturer in Law and Water Diplomacy at the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education in the Netherlands. She holds a PhD in Law from Queen Mary University of London, where her research examined the concept of uncertainty in international law in the context of shared freshwater resources. She has published on international water law.

Anthony Dan Tarlock is University Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Tech. From 2014-2019, he was a member of the Technical Committee of the Global Water Partnership in Stockholm, Sweden. Professor Tarlock holds and A.B. and LL.B. from Stanford University. He has held tenured positions at Indiana University, Bloomington and Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Tech. In addition, he has visited at a number of United States universities including Chicago, Hawai'i, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Southern California, Texas and Utah. He has also been a visiting scholar and teacher at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, City University of Hong Kong, The UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy, and Science, University of Dundee, Scotland and the University of Trento, Italy. He has also lectured throughout Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe.

Mara Tignino Reader at the Faculty of Law and the Institute for Environmental Sciences at the University of Geneva and Lead Legal Specialist of the Platform for International Water Law at the Geneva Water Hub. Dr.Tignino has been Visiting Professor at Renmin University of China, the University of Barcelona, the Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali (LUISS) and the Catholic University of Lille. She was also a Visiting Scholar at the George Washington University Law School in Washington D.C. Dr.Tignino acts as an expert and legal adviser for States and international organisations. She has given training workshops in Africa, Asia, Middle East and South America.She is a member of the Coordinating Committee of the Interest Group of "International Business and Human Rights" of the European Society of International Law (ESIL) and former co-chair of the Interest Group on Water of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association.

Sergei Vinogradov  is an Affiliate of the International Water Law Academy . He has extensive academic and practical experience in the field of public international law, specialising in the areas of natural resources, law of the sea and protection of the environment.  Since 1996 he has been working at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy, University of Dundee (Scotland, UK). During his academic career he also taught in various post-graduate programmes, including such universities as Oxford, Leuven, Kazakh National, Moscow State and MGIMO universities. Dr Vinogradov published extensively on a wide array of international legal issues, including transboundary water resources, protection of the marine environment, cross-border energy infrastructure, petroleum exploration and production, legal regime of the Arctic and Antarctic.

Yumiko Yasuda is an independent consultant and researcher on water and environmental governance. She is currently a visiting researcher at Research School on Water Cooperation, Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, and an affiliate of International Water Law Academy. She brings experiences working in multiple sectors in the field of water and environment including as: senior IWRM and transboundary water cooperation specialist at the Global Water Partnership; researcher on water diplomacy at SIWI, Uppsala University, and the Hague Institute for Global Justice; UNDP-GEF Asia and the Pacific region program officer; livelihoods specialist for WWF Mekong program; community-based ecotourism advisor in Cambodia, and environmental specialist at Ericsson. Yumiko obtained her PhD degree from the Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science at the University of Dundee, an MA in environmental policy from Tufts University, and an MSc in environmental science from Tsukuba University. Her research on the Mekong has culminated in the publication of a book, “Rules, Norms and NGO Advocacy Strategies: Hydropower Development on the Mekong River” by Routledge.