College of Law Professor Receives Prestigious Weeramantry International Justice Award

In an accomplishment demonstrating the research excellence and global impact of Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU) academic faculty, the College of Law’s Dr. Damilola S. Olawuyi (SAN), Professor and Associate Dean for Research and the UNESCO Chairholder on Environmental Law and Sustainable Development, has been awarded the prestigious Weeramantry International Justice Award. 

Commemorating the life of His Excellency Judge Christopher Gregory Weeramantry (1926 –2017), the award is granted to “distinguished senior-level jurists whose lifeworks, intellect and character offer the highest possible credit to the memory of the former Vice President of the International Court of Justice.” The Weeramantry International Justice Award also honors His Excellency’s international legacy, including his concern for the interests of current and future generations, commitment to international law, peace and sustainable development, and global humanism and leadership in the law.

Previous recipients of this award include Elizabeth Mrema (Tanzania), United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); Judge Kathy-Ann Brown (Jamaica), Member of the International Tribunal of the Sea (ITLOS); Professor James Bacchus (United States), former US Congressman and Founding Judge and the Chairman of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization; and Hon. Justice Marcel Szabo of the Constitutional Court of Hungary.

Dr. Olawuyi received his award at this year’s Global Symposium on the Natural World, the Sustainable Development Goals and the Law. The symposium was organized by the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law in partnership with the University of Cambridge, McGill University, United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and other international partners. Members of the award committee specifically commended Dr. Olawuyi’s pioneering scholarship on sustainable development in the Middle East and North Africa.  

Of note, Dr. Olawuyi is the author of the award-winning Environmental Law in Arab States (Oxford University Press 2022) and founder of the Association of Environmental Law Lectures in Middle East and North African Universities (ASSELLMU), an international consortium devoted to promoting the teaching of environmental law in the MENA Region.  He is a member of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights and was its previous chair.  

On receiving the award, Dr. Olawuyi said: “It is an absolute honor to receive the prestigious Weeramantry International Justice Award. I appreciate the tremendous support of everyone at Qatar Foundation and HBKU without which this award would not have been possible.”

Susan L. Karamanian, Dean, College of Law, observed: “His Excellency Judge Weeramantry was a pioneer in understanding the implications of international law beyond the nation-state.  The work of our colleague, Dr. Olawuyi, likewise appreciates how international law can influence individuals as well as business entities, particularly in the areas of human rights and environmental protection. We at HBKU’s College of Law are honored that Dr. Olawuyi has been formally recognized as being aligned with the important societal values that inspired the life legacy of His Excellency Judge Weeramantry.”