Teaching
Academic Programmes
3-Year LL.B. (Hons.)
5-Year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.)
Courses
Nov 2023
Nov 2021
Education
- B.A., LL.B. (Hons.), Gujarat National Law University (GNLU)
- LL.M., University of Cambridge (JN Tata Scholar)
- PhD, University of Cambridge (2026). Thesis: The Interactional Legal Practice of the Rio Conventions’ Implementation and Compliance Mechanisms
Profile
Dr Tejas Rao is Research Director at the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL), Post-Doctoral Research Associate at Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge, and Programme Coordinator of the Democratising Education for Global Sustainability and Justice (DemEd Global) Programme.
Tejas Rao is an international lawyer, working at the intersection of the environment and sustainable development.
His research and teaching, based on a PhD at the University of Cambridge, examine how countries and institutions implement and comply with obligations in established and emerging multilateral environmental treaties. Beyond this, he is interested in the history, theory, politics, and everyday lives of international law. He presently teaches at the University of Cambridge and Middlesex University Dubai, and has previously supported teaching at Yale University, SOAS University of London, and the National Law School of India University Bangalore. He is co-editor and author of forthcoming volumes with Oxford University Press and Edward Elgar, and is Editor with Völkerrechtsblog & Associate Editor of the Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law (RECIEL) and the Yearbook of International Environmental Law (YIELAW).
He regularly consults with the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on these issues, supporting capacity-building efforts to strengthen communities of practice. He routinely advises Governments at multilateral negotiations during the Conferences of the Parties to the UNFCCC, CBD, and UNCCD, as well as the United Nations General Assembly.
Trained across India, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, he works in four official UN languages (English, French, Spanish and Arabic) at various levels of proficiency, in addition to being fluent in Hindi and Kannada.
Publications
Edited Books
- Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger and Tejas Rao (eds), The Elgar Companion to Law and Governance for the Sustainable Development Goals (Edward Elgar, 2027, forthcoming).
- Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger and Damilola Olawuyi (eds), Tejas Rao (assistant editor), Sustainable Development Law: Principles, Practices, Processes (2nd edn, Oxford University Press, 2025).
- William Nunes and Tejas Rao (eds), Referendums in International Law: An Analysis (Ruby Press & Co, 2019).
Book Chapters
- Tejas Rao and Jessica Crow, “Contested Histories, Positionality and the Judiciary in the UK, USA and Canada” in Melanie Jean Murcott, Myriam Gicquello and Emily Webster (eds), Adjudicating Climate Change: Exploring Extra-Legal Factors (Bloomsbury, forthcoming).
- Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, Damilola Olawuyi and Tejas Rao, “International Law Contributions to Human Rights and Sustainable Development: Concepts, Coherence and Courage” in James Summers, James Bacchus and Alexandra Harrington (eds), Research Handbook on Human Rights and Sustainable Development (Routledge, forthcoming).
- Tejas Rao, “Environment and Sustainable Development Cooperation: Measures to Advance the Principle of Sustainable Use of Natural Resources in Multilateral Environmental Agreements” in Ilaria Espa, Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger and Nico Schrijver (eds), International Law and the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources (Kluwer, forthcoming).
- Vyoma Jha and Tejas Rao, “Energy and Renewables in South Asia” in Sumudu Atapattu, Cynthia Farid, Usha Natarajan and Shyami Puvimanasinghe (eds), Research Handbook on Environmental Law and Sustainable Development in South Asia (Routledge, forthcoming).
- Tejas Rao, contributions on Biodiversity, Biofuels and Bioenergy, Desertification, Energy, and Sustainable Development in Sumudu Atapattu (ed.), Essential Concepts of Human Rights and the Environment (Routledge, forthcoming).
- Fabiano de Andrade Corrêa and Tejas Rao, chapter in Varnika Chawla (ed), Scaling Investments in Natural Capital(Springer, forthcoming).
- Tejas Rao, chapter on Asian cities and international law in Swati Singh Parmar (ed), edited volume (forthcoming).
- Tejas Rao and Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, “Enabling Legal Capacity for Paris Implementation: Communities of Practice, Climate Justice, and the Law” in David Williamson, Gary Lynch-Wood and Agne Prochorskaite (eds), Research Handbook on Environmental Regulation (Edward Elgar, 2026) 232–247.
- Sebastián Rioseco and Tejas Rao, “From Sidelines to Center Stage: Conferences of the Parties (COPs) as Legal Playmakers” in Maria Antonia Tigre, Maxim Bönnemann and Alexandra De Spiegeleir (eds), The ICJ’s Advisory Opinion on Climate Change (Verfassungsbooks, 2025).
- Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, Christina Voigt and Tejas Rao, “Advancing the Legal Research, Capacity and Awareness for Climate Law and Governance” in Routledge Handbook of Climate Law and Governance: Courage, Contributions and Compliance (Routledge, 2024) 409–415.
- Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, Thalsa Thiziri Mekaouche, Tejas Rao, Hugh Travis and Zunaida Moosa-Wadiwala, “Defending the Defenders: State Responsibilities to Respect Climate Justice, Rule of Law, and Rights of Counsel in Climate Litigation Worldwide” in Ezio Costa Cordella and Pilar Moraga Sariego (eds), State Responsibilities in the Climate Crisis: Legal Standards and Global Litigation (2024).
Articles and Book Reviews
- Tejas Rao and Remi Moncel, “The Prevention Principle and Multilateral Development Banks: The World Bank’s Environmental and Social Risk Management Framework”, International Organizations Law Review (Brill, 2026, forthcoming).
- Raghavi Viswanath and Tejas Rao, “Caste-ing the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals”, Oxford Human Rights Hub Journal (accepted 2026, forthcoming).
- Natalie Jones and Tejas Rao, “Prospects for Keeping Fossil Fuels in the Ground Using the Contentious Jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice” (2026) 20(1) Carbon & Climate Law Review 20.
- Harro van Asselt and Tejas Rao, “Fossil Fuel Feuds and the ICJ Advisory Opinion on Climate Change” (2026) Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law.
- Tejas Rao, “Non-Compliance Procedures” (2025) 35(1) Yearbook of International Environmental Law, yvaf008.
- Tejas Rao, “Fertile Ground or Barren Policy? Evaluating Cross-Convention Approaches to Soil Protection” in International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy 2024 (Springer, 2025) 297–315.
- Tejas Rao, Book review of Christina Voigt and Caroline Foster (eds), International Courts versus Non-Compliance Mechanisms (2025) 74(3) International & Comparative Law Quarterly 743.
- Fabiano de Andrade Corrêa, Margret Vidar and Tejas Rao, “UNFCCC CoP26: Key Outcomes for Soil Management” in International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy 2022 (Springer, 2024) 145.
- D Peterson, O Hailes, J Qin and T Rao, “Strengthening Global Governance through International Law: Challenges and Opportunities” (2022) 11(2) Cambridge International Law Journal 149 (editorial).
- Tejas Rao, Book review of Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger et al. (eds), Intergenerational Justice in Sustainable Development Treaty Implementation (2021) Hungarian Yearbook of International Law and European Law 415.
- Tejas Rao and Ujval Mohan, “Crimes of Aggression: The Path Forward” in RGNUL Essays on Crimes of Aggression (2016).
Reports and Policy Briefs
- Daniel Ruiz de Garibay, Harry Jonas, Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, Jorge Cabrera Medaglia, Johana Deza, Tejas Rao, Ryan Zlatanova, Esteban Falconi and Lucía Ruiz, Advancing Legal and Policy Frameworks for Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs): Global Lessons for Policy and Practice (WWF and CISDL, February 2026).
- World Bank and United Nations Development Programme, Legal Foundations for Just Transitions: Strengthening National Frameworks for Development (2025).
- Tejas Rao, UNFCCC Governance: Understanding Climate Decision-Making (Legal Response International, 2025).
- Harro van Asselt and Tejas Rao, Maximising Synergies to Address the Climate and Biodiversity Crises: Legal Foundations for Joint Work between the UNFCCC and CBD (Greenpeace, June 2025).
- Monserrat Madariaga Gomez de Cuenca and Tejas Rao, Participation, Power and Process: Fixing Climate Negotiations (UCL Faculty of Laws, July 2025).
- Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger and Tejas Rao, The Global Stocktake’s Impact on Climate Governance, Transparency, and Transitions (Waterloo Climate Institute, 2024).
- Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger and Tejas Rao, Climate Law and Public Policy Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals: Accelerating Pre-CoP27 Paris Agreement Compliance (Bennett Institute for Public Policy, July 2022).
Blogs and Commentary
- Gor Samvel and Tejas Rao, “In Between the Lines: Breach and Non-Compliance in the Climate Advisory Opinions”, Völkerrechtsblog (1 July 2026).
- Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, Tejas Rao, Markus Gehring and Maxim Bönnemann, “‘Once the Lawyers Move In, You Know the Problem Is Serious’”, Verfassungsblog (15 May 2026); German version.
- Sebastián Rioseco and Tejas Rao, “From Sidelines to Center Stage: COPs as Legal Playmakers”, Verfassungsblog(12 September 2025).
- Harro van Asselt and Tejas Rao, “ICJ Advisory Opinion: Fossil Fuel Feuds in The Hague”, IISD SDG Knowledge Hub (August 2025).
- Tejas Rao, “A Rio Synergies Breakthrough: Integrating Biodiversity and Desertification into Climate Law”, Indian Blog of International Law (6 August 2025).
- Markus Gehring and Tejas Rao, “International Law Under Pressure: An Analysis of the First Six Weeks of the 2025 Trump US Administration”, Verfassungsblog (24 March 2025).
- Tejas Rao, “Bangladesh’s Vision for Climate Justice: Analysing its Submissions to the International Court of Justice”, Indian Blog of International Law (27 December 2024).
- Tejas Rao, Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, Markus Gehring and Maxim Bönnemann, “The Advisory Opinion Could Reshape Global Climate Governance”, Verfassungsblog (7 December 2024); German version.
- Tejas Rao and Renatus Otto Franz Derler, “Remaining Tensions Between the ‘Global Souths’ and the ‘Global Norths’: Reflecting on Some CBD COP16 Outcomes”, Völkerrechtsblog (26 November 2024).
- Sebastián Rioseco and Tejas Rao, “COPs as Emerging Subjects of International Law? Rethinking Legal Personality in Global Governance”, EJIL: Talk! (6 November 2024).
- Tejas Rao, Roger Negredo, Elisa Fallani and Tatiana Rozochkina, “Navigating the Complex Interplay of Politics, Conservation, and Community in World Heritage Management”, Völkerrechtsblog (23 May 2024).
- Tejas Rao, “2021 Thoughts on Requesting the ICJ for an Advisory Opinion on Climate Change”, Courting International Law (7 April 2023).
- Raghavi Viswanath and Tejas Rao, “Reflections on Spatiality in International Law”, International Law and the Global South (2022).
- Raghavi Viswanath and Tejas Rao, “Querying #ILTwitter as a Tweetling”, Opinio Juris (1 April 2022).
- Tejas Rao, “Leading Experts at COP26 Commit to Scale-Up Climate Law & Governance Capacity Worldwide Tenfold from 600 to 6,000 by 2024”, Balsillie School of International Affairs (3 January 2022).
- Tejas Rao and Freedom-Kai Phillips, “CoP26 Outcomes and Reasons for Hope”, Bennett Institute for Public Policy (8 December 2021).
- Tejas Rao, “At COP26, Experts Make a Commitment to Scale-Up Climate Law and Governance Tenfold by 2024”, University of Waterloo Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change (2021).
- Radhika Parthasarathy and Tejas Rao, “Playing the Devil’s Advocate: How the Government May Just Pass a Test Under Article 21 while Mandating the Aarogya Setu Application”, Manupatra (2020).
- Tejas Rao and Kartikeya Sharma, “Coordinating Judgements: Ensuring Certainty in the Law”, LiveLaw (2020).
- Tejas Rao and Kartikeya Sharma, “Court & Contempt: Dissent from the Bar”, LiveLaw (2020).
Preprints, Headnotes and Case Reports
- Tejas Rao, “The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition as a Transformative Site of Encounter: Studying Career Trajectories of Asian International Lawyers” (SSRN, December 2025).
- Tenia Kyriazi and Tejas Rao, “Climate Change and the Right to Education: A Twofold Relationship” (SSRN, 6 October 2025).
- Sebastián Rioseco and Tejas Rao, Headnote: Agreement under the UNCLOS on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), Oxford Reports on International Organizations (OXIO e807, 2025).
- Tejas Rao, Aban Loyd Chiles Offshore Ltd v Union of India, ILDC 2899 (IN 2008), Oxford Reports on International Law in Domestic Courts (2024).
- Tejas Rao, MV Elisabeth v Harwan Investment and Trading Pvt Ltd, ILDC 2713 (IN 1992), Oxford Reports on International Law in Domestic Courts (2024).
- Tejas Rao, Sharma v State of Rajasthan & Ors, ILDC 2972 (IN 2019), Oxford Reports on International Law in Domestic Courts (2020).
- Aakash Khatri, Sushma S Babu and Tejas Rao, Stakeholders’ responses to the TRAI privacy consultation paper (Part XI of XII), Ikigai Law (2018).