Mara Tignino

Mara Tignino is a Reader at the Faculty of Law of the University of Geneva and the Lead Legal Specialist of the Platform for International Water Law at Geneva Water Hub. She teaches courses on international environmental law and international water law. She also leads research projects funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) and private foundations in the area of the rights and obligations of private actors in relation to the protection of the environment and human rights. She was involved in research projects in Switzerland and abroad (France, Germany, Italy, and the United States).

At the Geneva Water Hub, she leads the online course in “International Water Law and the Law of Transboundary Aquifers” in partnership with DiploFoundation and the MOOC in “Droit international de l’eau douce.” Mara acts as an expert and legal adviser for States and international organizations such as the Inter-American Development Bank, UNITAR, UNEP, UNDP, and OSCE. She is regularly invited to international conferences and has given training workshops in Africa, Asia, Middle East and South America.

In 2017, she won the prize “Women Peacebuilders for Water” from “Fondazione Milano per Expo” for her research in international water law and her dedication to the creation of new generations of international lawyers.

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 is a mentor of the “Women in International Law” Program of the American Society of International Law (ASIL). She is a member of the World Commission on Environmental Law of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Mara holds a Diplôme d’études supérieures and a Ph.D. in International Law from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. She received her habilitation à diriger des recherches (HDR) from the Faculty of Law of the University Jean Moulin Lyon 3. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli (LUISS) in Rome and a Certificat d’études politiques européennes from the Institut d’Études Politiques in Strasbourg.