The CISDL’s Annual International Legal Specialist Awards recognize the outstanding contributions of recipients to key topics in international law which contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including climate change, human rights, biodiversity, trade and investment, peace, justice and governance, natural resources and health. Through their knowledge, professional skills and insights, recipients of the CISDL International Legal Specialist Awards demonstrate a serious, significant longstanding commitment to advancing peace, justice and sustainable development in the world.
Biodiversity Programme
Prof Hugo Echeverria, Universidad Central de Ecuador, Ecuador
Prof Hugo Echeverria is a Lawyer and professor holding a Doctor of Jurisprudence, and Master of Laws from McGill University. He is a member of the International Association of Constitutional Law, and Co-chair Research Group on Rights of Nature. His research focuses on institutions of environmental law, constitutional aspects of environmental law, environmental legal responsibility and environmental criminal law.
Climate Change Programme
Prof Francesco Sindico, University of Strathclyde, Scotland
Prof Francesco Sindico, is a Professor in International Law at the University of Strathclyde Law School in Glasgow and is currently on secondment with the Scottish Government where he leads the Carbon Neutral Islands project. He is the Founder of the Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance and is active in international dispute settlement advising governments before the International Court of Justice. He is coordinating the Climate Change Litigation Initiative (C2LI), which builds on an edited book titled “Comparative Climate Change Litigation: Beyond the Usual Suspects” published in 2021. Francesco has also published a monograph in 2020 on “International Law and Transboundary Aquifers” and co-edited a book in 2021 on the “Transformation of Environmental Law and Governance: Innovation, Risk and Resilience.”
Health Programme
Prof Brigit Toebes, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
Prof. mr. dr. B.C.A. (Brigit) Toebes is a legal scholar with twenty-five years of experience in the international standards protecting health, with a strong emphasis on the role of human rights in health promotion and disease prevention. Currently involved in the discussion about ‘global health law’ as an emerging branch of public international law. Recent research themes include the NCD pandemic and the regulation of behavioural risk factors (in particular smoking and unhealty diets), the regulation of vaccination, and the role of law in socio-economic health inequalities. In 2013, Prof. Toebes was awarded a Rosalind Franklin Fellowship at University of Groningen Faculty of Law, which led to her appointment in the Chair Health Law in a Global Context in 2018.
Human Rights Programme
Prof Rebecca Bratspies, City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law, USA
Prof Rebecca Bratspies is a Law Professor at the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law, where she is the founding Director of the Center for Urban Environmental Reform. She is an internationally recognized expert on environmental justice, and the human right to a healthy environment. Professor Bratspies has written scores of law review articles, op-eds, and other publications including four books. Her most recent book Environmental Justice: Law Policy and Regulation is used in schools across the country. Bratspies is perhaps best known for her environmentally-themed comic books Mayah’s Lot and Bina’s Plant, made in collaboration with artist Charlie LaGreca-Velasco, that have been used in classrooms around the world to bring environmental literacy to the next generation of environmental leaders.
Natural Resources Programme
Prof Barbara Janusz Pawletta, German-Khazak Univ
Dr. Barbara Janusz-Pawletta is vice-president on International Cooperation at the Kazakh-German University (DKU), a member at the Technical Committee of the Global Water Partnership (GWP), UNESCO Chairholder for water management in Central Asia, a member of the International Law Association, and Affiliate of International Water Law Academy. Dr. Janusz-Pawletta obtained her doctorate in law at the Freie Universität in Berlin. Her teaching and research fields cover legal frameworks and institutional interstate cooperation including the water, climate, land and energy nexus. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Central Asian Journal of Water Research (CAJWR), has written more than 35 research publications, among others:
Peace, Justice & Governance Programme
Dr Ilaria Bottigliero, IDLO
Dr. Ilaria Bottigliero is the Director of Policy, Research and Learning at IDLO. Her responsibilities include oversight of IDLO’s publications, research and learning portfolio, as well as of the thematic areas of expertise on gender, climate justice and health law. In her role, she guides the IDLO Research and Learning department in producing high-level, targeted research, expert knowledge products, identification and analysis of trends in the rule of law and justice sector; contributes to programmatic work with specialized pilot initiatives, quality control of research and policy outputs at the program level; and encourages learning and innovation both internally and externally through knowledge sharing and learning activities, including events, participation in global debates, dissemination of research and production of lessons learned and resources. Prior to joining IDLO, Dr. Bottigliero was Lecturer and Researcher at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in Lund, Sweden, and at the Lund University Faculty of Law, teaching a variety of human rights courses
Trade and Investment Law Programme
Prof Javiera Caceres, Instituto de Estudios Internacionales, Universidad de Chile·
Prof. Javiera Cáceres Bustamante is an instructor at the University of Chile, where her research focuses on international trade, sustainable development and investment. She holds a BA from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, and an MA in International Strategy and Trade Policy from the University of Chile. She is a research fellow at CISDL. She has been a consultant for the World Bank, Interamerican Development Bank, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Chilean Under-Secretariat of International Economic Affairs on international trade and trade policy issues. Prof Hugo Echeverria is a Lawyer and professor holding a Doctor of Jurisprudence from PUCE, and Master of Laws from McGill University. He is a member of the International Association of Constitutional Law, and Co-chair Research Group on Rights of Nature. He is also a member of the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law. His research focuses on institutions of environmental law, constitutional aspects of environmental law, environmental criminal law and environmental aspects of marine conservation.
