Cymie Payne

Cymie Payne, J.D. is an Associate Professor at Rutgers University, teaching in the Department of Human Ecology and the School of Law. She holds affiliations with multiple institutions including the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, and the Institute of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences. Her research focuses on global governance of the environment, international law related to oceans, climate change, and environmental protection during armed conflict.

Education: Master’s in International Relations from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts University), and a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley.

Research emphasizes legal frameworks for environmental governance, with specialization in marine law, climate policy linkages, and regulating emerging technologies like carbon sequestration. She has represented the IUCN at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, advised on environmental reparations in the ICJ Case (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua), and participated in UN High Seas Biodiversity Treaty negotiations.

Professional roles include Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law’s Ocean Law Specialist Group, and membership in the International Law Association’s Sustainable Resources Management Committee. She previously directed the Global Commons Project at UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment.

Her work bridges international law, environmental policy, and conflict-related ecological protection, with notable contributions to state-climate policy integration and regulating seabed mining.