Marguerite de Chaisemartin is an international legal scholar and practitioner with over 18 years of experience in the sector. She received her Doctorate (J.S.D.) in public international law specializing in international water resources, under the supervision of Prof. Stephen McCaffrey, former Special Rapporteur to the International Law Commission on the topic of the non-navigational uses of international watercourses. Her primary focuses have been on public international law, international environmental law, and the law, governance, and management of transboundary freshwater resources. She has worked throughout various regions of the world with numerous governments, IGOs, NGOs, local stakeholders, development banks, and academia. Notably, her experience has included several years in UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme (UNESCO-IHP), working in the water cooperation and conflict prevention programme, as well as the transboundary aquifers programme. 

Among other roles, she has served as a legal advisor to the Republic of Chile before the International Court of Justice in the case concerning the Dispute over the Status and Use of the Waters of the Silala (Chile v. Bolivia). She has worked as a senior project officer and project officer on transboundary water cooperation projects in the Euphrates and Tigris region and on the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System. She also has developed and conducted trainings for diverse audiences, and worked as an Adjunct Professor at the McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, where she co-developed the online course on international water law.

She received her legal education in both common law and civil law jurisdictions. She is fluent in English, French and Spanish, and has a working proficiency in German.