Dana Zartner

Dana Zartner, JD, PhD is a Full Professor in the Global Studies Department and is an Adjunct Professor at the School of Law at the University of San Francisco, where she specializes in international and comparative law, with a focus on the intersection of environmental justice and human rights. Professor Zartner’s first book Courts, Codes, and Custom: Legal Tradition and State Policy Toward International Human Rights and Environmental Law was released by Oxford University Press (2014). Her second book Standing for Nature: Legal Strategies for Environmental Justice was released in print and audiobook in 2025. She has also recently published articles on the rights of nature, using international law as a tool for advocacy, and indigenous efforts to stop extractive industries on sacred lands in Environmental Forum, The Conversation, Terrain, the Environs: UC Davis Environmental Law & Policy, the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law, the Santa Clara Journal of International Law, and The Hill. In addition to her academic work, Professor Zartner has served as an accredited representative at various UN meetings, including the Committee on Women’s Rights in New York and the Expert Mechanisms on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Geneva. She has also done pro bono work with the Earth Law Center and Standing for Washington.

• Rights of nature and the development of innovative environmental legal advocacy
• International law as a tool for activism
• Corporate social responsibility
• The role of culture and different knowledges in the development and understanding of law and politics

• PhD, Political Science, University of California, Davis
• JD, Concentration in International Law, Boston University
• BA, International Relations, Hamline University

• Provost’s Award for Collaborative Leadership and Shared Governance (2023)

• College of Arts and Sciences Collective Achievement Award for the Honors College Leadership Team (2022)

• Standing for Nature: Legal Strategies for Environmental Justice, with Fabian Cardenas and Mohammad Golam Sarwar (Island Press 2025)
• The Environmental Movement You Probably Already Agree With (You Just Don't Realize It), The Environment (August 2025)
• How the nature of environmental law is changing in defense of the planet and the climate, The Conversation (July 2025)
• Reimagining Nature in the Shadow of the Mountain: Taranaki Maunga and the Rights of Nature Movement, Terrain.org (June 2025)
• “The Right to the Night: New Legal Advocacy Strategies to Address Terrestrial Light Pollution”, Environs: Environmental Law & Policy Journal [with Aparna Venkatesan and John Barantine], forthcoming December 2024.
• Zartner, D. "Watching Whanganui and the Lessons of Lake Erie: Effective Realization of Rights of Nature Law," Vermont Journal of Environmental Law (2021).
• Zartner, D. "Justice for Juristac: Using International and Comparative Law to Protect Indigenous Lands," Santa Clara Journal of International Law (2020).
• Zartner, D. "How giving legal rights to nature could help reduce toxic algae blooms in Lake Erie," The Conversation (2019).
• Zartner, D. "Focus on the Positive: How do we keep our classes from becoming too depressing?" Journal of Political Science Education, published online on August 2018, forthcoming in print 2019.
• Zartner, D. Courts, Codes and Custom: Legal Tradition and State Policy toward International Human Rights and Environmental Law. (2014). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
• Zartner, D. "The (Un)common Law: Internalization of International Law and the Diverging Policies of the U.S. and Australia Towards International Human Rights Law.” (2013). International Political Science Review, 34(4), 411-426.
• Zartner, D. “Knowledge, Skills, and Preparing for the Future: Best Practices to Prepare International Studies Majors for Life after College”, International Studies Perspectives, Vol. 19(2), May 2018 [with Molly Melin, Gigi Gokcek, Kathie Carpenter, and Carolyn Shaw].
• Zartner, D. "The Culture of Law: Understanding the Influence of Legal Tradition on Transitional Justice in Post-Conflict Societies." (2012). Indiana International & Comparative Law Review, 2(22).
• Zartner, D. & Ramos, R. "Human Rights as Reputation Builder: Compliance with the Convention Against Torture." (2011). Human Rights Review, 12(1), 71-92.
• Zartner, D. "Can International Law Survive the 21st Century? Yes, with Patience, Persistence, and a Peek at the Past San Diego." (2007). International Law Journal, 8.
• Zartner, D. "Thought versus Action: An Historical Analysis of Legal Traditions to Explain French and American Approaches to International Law." (2006). Maine Law Review: Symposium Issue on French and American Perspectives on International Law.
• Zartner, D. "Stemming the Flow of Environmental Displacement: Creating a Convention to Protect Persons and Preserve the Environment." (2001). Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy.