Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger

Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger
Born	United Kingdom
Education	BA Hons University of Victoria & Carleton University BCL/LLB McGill University Faculty of Law MEM Yale University DPhil University of Oxford
Spouse	Markus Gehring
Awards	UNFCCC High-Level Champions Climate Impact Maker, 2024 Weeramantry International Justice Award, 2020 Leverhulme Trust Visiting Professorship Award, 2019 Justitia Regnorum Fundamentum Award, 2016 United Nations National Technical Assistance Commendations from 26 countries, 2002-2020

Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger FRSC FRSA WIJA is a professor of sustainable development law and governance ^[1] and international law. She is an international jurist widely recognised as a founding figure in sustainable development law, an emerging field distinct from traditional environmental law ^[2] .

She holds the world's first Chair in Sustainable Development Law and Policy at the University of Cambridge ^{[3] [4]} in Lucy Cavendish College and serves as Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC) in the Academy of Social Sciences ^{[5] [6] [7]} and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) ^[8] in the United Kingdom. She is also a Fellow in Law & LLM/MCL Director of Studies at the Lucy Cavendish College; fellow at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law; ^[9] member of the Bennett School of Public Policy ^[10] and fellow of the Cambridge Centre for Energy, Environment & Natural Resource Governance. ^[11]

She serves as executive secretary of the Climate Law and Governance Initiative (CLGI) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and holds adjunct professorships at the University of Victoria Faculty of Law and the University of Waterloo School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, where she is also senior fellow at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. She also serves as chair of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Biodiversity Law & Governance Initiative; and chairs the International Law Association Committee on International Law for the SDGs; co-founder of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) of Canada; Vice President of the International Law Association (ILA) of Canada; co-founder and councillor of the World Future Council.

Cordonier Segger authored the foundational textbook Sustainable Development Law: Principles, Practices and Prospects, which established sustainable development law as a distinct legal discipline integrating economic, social and environmental concerns. In 2002, she co-founded the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL), creating the first international research centre dedicated to this emerging field ^[12] . Her scholarly and institutional contributions have been instrumental in shaping international legal frameworks for climate change, biodiversity conservation, and the Sustainable Development Goals ^{[13] [14]} .

Education and Early Life

Early Activism

Cordonier Segger became active in environmental and human rights advocacy during the late 1980s while studying in British Columbia. As president of the West Coast Environmental Law Youth Alliance and the Environmental Youth Alliance, she led campaigns on forest protection that included direct action ^{[15] [16]} . In 1991, she undertook a five-day fast for future forests ^[17] , and in 1993 led a hunger strike that continued until the government agreed not to weaken the Forest Practices Code. ^[18] She also served as president of the Amnesty International Youth Campus Network during this period.

Her involvement in international environmental diplomacy began as a youth delegate to the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro ^[19] and the 1997 Earth Summit+5 special session at UN Headquarters in New York ^[20] . Years later, as head of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) delegation to the Warsaw Climate Change Conference, she undertook a ten-day hunger strike to draw attention to climate justice issues.

Education

Cordonier Segger began her undergraduate studies at the University of Victoria, completing three years before transferring to Carleton University, where she graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts with highest honours in Interdisciplinary Studies. She pursued legal education at McGill University Faculty of Law, completing both Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) and Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degrees with distinction in 2002, during which she spent an exchange year at the London School of Economics and School of Oriental and African Studies.

She continued her studies at Yale University, where she completed a Master of Environmental Management (MEM) with specialisation in Environmental Economics, Law and Policy in 2003. At the University of Oxford Exeter College, she studied as a Chevening Scholar under Professor Vaughan Lowe, completing her DPhil in International Law in 2012. Her doctoral thesis examined sustainable development in international trade and investment law. In 2023, the University of Cambridge, Lucy Cavendish College, awarded her a PhD ad eundem gradum for law leadership and scholarship ^[21] . She speaks six languages.

Professional career

Cordonier Segger began her professional career working as a manager and senior advisor for the United Nations Environment Programme from 1998 to 2004 ^[22] . During that timeframe, she was also an advisor for the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (2000–2002), associate fellow at Chatham House/Royal Institute of International Affairs (2000–2004), teaching fellow at Yale University (2002–2003) and co-founded and became director of the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (2002-current). In addition, she became a member of both the Canadian Bar Association (2002-current) and International Law Association (2002-current). From 2004 to 2006, Cordonier Segger worked as a course development expert and instructor at the National Judicial Institute of Canada and as seminar and lecture series coordinator for the Faculty of Law at Oxford University.

Between 2006 and 2010, Cordonier Segger worked as assistant director in sustainable development and international affairs at Natural Resources Canada, began as international professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Chile (2009–2015), and was the senior director of research and sustainable prosperity at the University of Ottawa (2008–2010). From 2010 to 2015, she was senior legal expert and sustainable development head at the International Development Law Organization, senior legal advisor for the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (2013–2015) and international professor in the Faculty of Natural Resources and Faculty of Law at the University of Kisangani (2012–2017).

In 2015 Cordonier Segger acted as senior legal advisor to the presidency of the twenty-second meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (2015–2017) ^[23] and became executive secretary of the Climate Law & Governance Initiative (2015–2021). From 2016 to 2019, she worked as senior policy advisor and manager in governance and stakeholder relations at Environment and Climate Change Canada. In 2016, the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights in the Government of Hungary awarded her the Justitia Regnorum Fundamentum Award. ^{[24] [25]} The same year, she became full professor at the School of Environment, Enterprise & Development (SEED), University of Waterloo, Canada (2016-current).

As of 2019, she serves as Leverhulme Trust Visiting Professor ^[26] at the University of Cambridge and as a Fellow in Law & LLM/MCL Director of Studies at the Lucy Cavendish College. Most recently in 2020, Cordonier Segger was named an inaugural laureate of the Weeramantry International Justice Award. ^[27] In 2022, she was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC) in the Academy of Social Sciences, Canada's highest scholarly honour ^{[28] [29]} . She co-received the Climate Law and Governance Global Leadership Award at UNFCCC COP27 in 2023 ^[30] , and in 2024 was named UNFCCC High-Level Champions Climate Impact Maker for her leadership in shaping global climate law ^{[31] [32]} .

Awards

• UNFCCC High-Level Champions Climate Impact Maker (2024)
• Weeramantry International Justice Award (2020)
• Leverhulme Trust Visiting Professorship Award (2019)
• Justitia Fundamentum Regnorum (2016)
• United Nations National Technical Assistance Commendations from 26 countries, 2002-2020

Publications

Cordonier Segger has edited or authored over 28 books and authored over 180 peer-reviewed articles in six languages. Representative publications include:

• Indigenous Peoples Inspiring Sustainable Development: Implementing UNDRIP through International Law and Covenants, ed. with W. Garnons-Williams (Cambridge University Press, 2026)
• Sustainable Development Law: Principles, Practices and Prospects, 2nd edition, with Damilola S. Olawuyi (Oxford University Press, 2025)
• Routledge Handbook of Climate Law and Governance: Courage, Contributions and Compliance, editor with C. Voigt (Routledge, 2024)
• CITES as a Tool for Sustainable Development, ed. with D.A. Wardell (Cambridge University Press, 2023)

• Athena’s Treaties: Crafting Trade and Investment Accords for Sustainable Development (Oxford University Press, published 2021).
• Implementing International Law through Domestic Institutions for Inter-Generational Justice (Cambridge University Press, published 2020), with Marcel Szabo and Alexandra Harrington.
• Sustainable Development in International Courts and Tribunals (Routledge, published 2017), ed. with HE Judge Christopher Weeramantry.
• Sustainable Development, International Criminal Justice, and Treaty Implementation (Cambridge University Press, 2013) with Sébastien Jodoin.
• Legal Aspects of Implementing the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (Cambridge University Press, 2013), ed, with F. Perron-Welch, and C. Frison.
• Sustainable Development in World Investment Law (Kluwer Law International, 2010), editor with Markus Gehring and Andrew Newcombe.
• World Trade Law in Practice (Globe Business Publishers, 2006).
• Beyond the Barricades: The Americas Trade and Sustainable Development Agenda (Ashgate Publishing, 2005) contributor with Maria Leichner Reynal.
• Sustainable Development Law: Principles, Practices and Prospects (Oxford University Press, 2004), with Ashfaq Khalfan.
• Sustainable Justice: Integrating Environmental, Social and Economic Law (Martinus Nijhoff, 2004), editor with HE Judge Christopher Weeramantry.
• Weaving the Rules for Our Common Future(CISDL, 2002), with Ashfaq Khalfan and S. Nakhjavan.
• Trade Rules and Sustainability in the Americas (International Institute for Sustainable Development, 1999).
• War No More: Poetry in Hope of Peace (Morris, 1992), with D Mittler.

References

1. "Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger | 2022 New RSC Fellow | University of Cambridge". The Royal Society of Canada. 2023-01-09. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
2. Walters, Angela (2022-11-03). "Professor Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, Centre for International Sustainable Development Law". Centre for Climate Engagement. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
3. "Professor Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger | Lucy Cavendish". www.lucy.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
4. Joanne (2023-03-06). "Professor Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger awarded world's first Visiting Chair in Sustainable Development Law and Policy in the University of Cambridge". Balsillie School of International Affairs. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
5. "Congratulations to SEED Professor Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger | School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED) | University of Waterloo". uwaterloo.ca. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
6. Canada, I. L. A. (2022-12-01). "Prof. Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger awarded Fellowship of the Royal Society of Canada". ILA-Canada. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
7. "Professor Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger (2003, Law) elected to Fellowship of the Royal Society of Canada". Exeter College. 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
8. "Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger". Bennett School of Public Policy. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
9. "Prof Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger". lcil.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
10. "Professor Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger". bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/about-us/visiting-fellows/people. Archived from the original on 2013-08-19. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
11. "Professor Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger". ceenrg.landecon.cam.ac.uk/people. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
12. "CISDL changing world". www.reporter-archive.mcgill.ca. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
13. "Influential women". www.southampton.ac.uk. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
14. "Impact Makers: Prof. Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger". www.climatechampions.net. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
15. "Jul 17, 1996, page 6 - The Roanoke Times at Newspapers.com™". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
16. "Jul 20, 1991, page 1 - Times Colonist at Newspapers.com™". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
17. "Article clipped from The Province". The Province. 1991-05-27. p. 3. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
18. "Aug 17, 1991, page 6 - The Vancouver Sun at Newspapers.com™". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
19. Walters, Angela (2022-11-03). "Professor Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, Centre for International Sustainable Development Law". Centre for Climate Engagement. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
20. "IDLO: Looking to RIO+20 and Beyond". IDLO - International Development Law Organization. 2014-07-02. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
21. "Prof Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger | Lauterpacht Centre for International Law". www.lcil.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
22. "Prof Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger | Lauterpacht Centre for International Law". www.lcil.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2026-01-25.
23. "Prof Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger | Lauterpacht Centre for International Law". www.lcil.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2026-01-25.
24. "Justitia Regnorum Fundamentum Award, 2016". Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
25. "2016 Justitia Regnorum Fundamentum Award, Dr Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger". Cambridge Centre for Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Governance. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
26. "Professor Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger". lucy.cam.ac.uk/directors-studies. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
27. "Announcing the inaugural laureates of the 2020 Weeramantry International Justice Award". .mcgill.ca/law/channels/news. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
28. "Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger | 2022 New RSC Fellow | University of Cambridge". The Royal Society of Canada. 2023-01-09. Retrieved 2026-01-25.
29. "Professor Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger (2003, Law) elected to Fellowship of the Royal Society of Canada". Exeter College. 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2026-01-25.
30. "Professor Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger | Lucy Cavendish". www.lucy.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2026-01-25.
31. "UN Climate Change High-Level Champion launches 'Impact Makers' – a new campaign to amplify climate solutions". cop29.az. Retrieved 2026-01-25.
32. "Impact Makers: Prof. Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger". www.climatechampions.net. Retrieved 2026-01-25.