Dinah Shelton

Dinah Shelton is a Professor of Law at Santa Clara University School of Law in California, USA, holding this position since at least 1991. She specializes in international environmental law, human rights law, and their intersections. Her work focuses on climate displacement, transnational environmental governance, and the legal frameworks protecting human rights in environmental contexts.

Key affiliations include contributions to UNITAR training programs on environmental law and editing seminal works such as International Environmental Law and Manual of European Environmental Law. She has collaborated extensively with institutions like the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), co-authoring judicial handbooks and drafting international conventions.

Her research interests span climate justice, corporate accountability, indigenous rights, and the legal status of environmentally displaced persons. Notable publications include Jus Cogens (2021), Environmental Protection and Human Rights (2011), and The Oxford Handbook of International Human Rights Law (2013). Shelton has co-edited over 40 books and authored influential articles on environmental treaties and human rights mechanisms.

Her articles collectively address issues like treaty interpretation, soft law instruments in environmental governance, and remedies for human rights violations. Shelton’s work emphasizes the interplay between international law and regional systems, with a focus on non-state actor roles and equitable environmental policymaking.

No scientific awards are explicitly listed, but her prolific scholarly output and editorial roles highlight her influence in the field. She has advised on UN initiatives and contributed to the development of environmental compliance frameworks globally.