Melissa Stewart is an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, William S. Richardson School of Law. Her research combines theoretical and practical approaches to complex problems of international law. She is particularly interested in the role of the state in the protection of rights and strengthening mechanisms for international protection when the link between the individual and the state has been irrevocably broken. To this end, her scholarship has focused on the rights of stateless persons, refugees, and the rights of populations at risk of displacement due to sea level rise. 

Prior to academia, Professor Stewart spent several years in private practice at Foley Hoag, LLP where she advised clients on matters related to international law, human rights, law of the sea, international environmental law, and corporate social responsibility. She represented clients before various United Nations bodies and was co-counsel to the Republic of the Philippines in the historic South China Sea arbitration before the Permanent Court of Arbitration. 

Professor Stewart earned her JD and LLM from Georgetown Law and her master’s in international economic law, global governance studies from SciencesPo in Paris.