Rate My Professor Werner Scholtz

Professor Werner Scholtz is Head of School and Professor of Global Environmental Law at Southampton Law School, University of Southampton. He obtained his doctorate in law from Leiden University in 2001. Previously, Scholtz held the position of Senior Professor of Law and Head of the Department of Public Law and Jurisprudence at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa, before taking up his current role in February 2021. He maintains an Extraordinary Professorship at the Global Environmental Law Centre, University of the Western Cape. Scholtz is an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow and an internationally acclaimed National Research Foundation rated researcher. He has served on several committees of the International Law Association and held honorary positions at higher education institutions in South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

Werner Scholtz specializes in international environmental law. His research interests include climate change, animal law, wildlife welfare, sustainable development, and environmental ethics. Current work focuses on the consequences of increasing animal welfare considerations for international wildlife law, seeking to reconcile conservation objectives with welfare goals and reconfigure sustainable development concepts to incorporate ethical and humane use principles. Key publications encompass the book Animal Welfare and International Environmental Law: From Conservation to Compassion (Edward Elgar, 2019); 'International (Wild) Animal Rights and Biodiversity: Resolving Conflicts Between Holism and Individualism' (Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy, 2024); 'Addressing Climate Change through International Human Rights Law: From (Extra)Territoriality to Common Concern of Humankind' (Transnational Environmental Law, 2021, co-authored with V. Bellinkx, D. Casalin, G. Erdem Türkelli, and W. Vandenhole); ''Ethical and Humane Use', Intrinsic Value and the Convention on Biological Diversity: Towards the Reconfiguration of Sustainable Development and Use' (Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law, 2021); and 'Equity in International Environmental Law' (2021, book chapter). With 57 publications listed on his profile and over 400 citations, Scholtz influences academic discourse on global environmental governance. He teaches the module International Environmental Law (LAWS6163) and convenes seminars such as the annual Rule of Law and Sustainable Development Seminar hosted by the Centre for International Law and Globalisation.