John Bonine

John Bonine is a pioneering Professor of Law and the Bernard B. Kliks Professor at the University of Oregon School of Law, where he has been a faculty member since 1978. He is affiliated with the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center and teaches Administrative Law, Comparative Environmental Law, Constitutional Law, Environmental Law, and the LL.M. Seminar.

Professor Bonine is one of the pioneers of environmental law in the United States. His educational background includes work as a Legislative Assistant in the U.S. Senate (1972) and rising to Associate General Counsel at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency before joining academia.

His research focuses on environmental law, human rights and the environment, public participation in environmental decision-making, and access to justice. Bonine has established himself as a global leader in environmental law through his work creating numerous institutions including the world's first environmental law clinic (now the Western Environmental Law Center), the Public Interest Environmental Law Conferences, the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide, and the Oregon-Lviv University Partnership.

His scholarly work shows a consistent focus on public participation, citizen enforcement, and access to environmental justice across multiple jurisdictions. His publications span comparative analyses of environmental law systems, with particular attention to economic barriers to justice, standing requirements, and international environmental human rights frameworks.

• Dean's Distinguished Faculty Fellow (2008)
• David Brower Lifetime Achievement Award (2007 & 1997)
• David Simon Award for Vision (1989)
• Senator Richard E. Neuberger Award (1982)

Professor Bonine has represented citizen groups in environmental cases and has been instrumental in building global networks of environmental lawyers. He co-founded the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (ELAW), a network of 300 environmental lawyers in 70 countries, and serves on the Commission on Environmental Law of the World Conservation Union. His international work includes chairing the Board of Directors for the Ukrainian public interest environmental law firm Ecology-People-Law and active membership in the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law. He has established numerous academic partnerships and created discussion networks for environmental law professors worldwide.