Friends of the Centre
Prof. JOSEPH W. DELLAPENNA
Joseph W. Dellapenna retired from Villanova University in 2016 after 40 years as a professor of law there. He has worked on Middle Eastern water issues since 1982, when he co-authored WATER IN THE MIDDLE EAST: CONFLICT OR COOPERATION? (Thomas Naff & Ruth Matson eds., Westview Press, Boulder, CO: 1984), following with numerous books and articles on Middle Eastern water issues. He also consulted on Middle Eastern water issues, most recently as leader of the legal and institutional team of the World Bank’s Feasibility Study for the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project (2009-2013).


Dr. Catherine Brölmann
She is an associate professor of law at the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Center for International Law. She is a member of the Advisory Committee for Public International Law of the Netherlands Government. She is co-editor-in-chief of the OUP online publication Oxford International Organizations (OXIO) (with Jean d’Aspremont and Iain Scobie). Brölmann has published and lectured widely on various topics of international law .For four years she was on the board of the Geneva-based NGOWaterLex. A recent publication in the field of Water Law is Sustainable Development Goal 6 as a Game Changer for International Water Law (Sept 2018) in the “Reflection” series of the European Society for International Law.
Gabriela Cuadrado-Quesada
Gabriela is an environmental lawyer and a social-legal researcher. Currently, she is working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Integrated Water Systems and Governance at the UNESCO-IHE, Institute for Water Education. She has more than 10 years of professional experience in research, litigation and project management. Her current research focuses on the interface between the design and implementation of groundwater policy and legal frameworks and groundwater governance. In particular, she studies the role of groundwater policy and law in improving sustainable use and equitable access of water.


Dr. Otto Spijkers
Dr. Otto Spijkers is Lecturer of Public International Law at Utrecht University, Senior Research Associate with the Netherlands Institute for the Law of the Sea (NILOS), and researcher with the Utrecht Centre for Water, Oceans and Sustainability Law (UCWOSL).
He is a member of the Committee on the Role of International Law in Sustainable Natural Resource Management for Development of the International Law Association (ILA), and guest lecturer for Amnesty International The Hague.
Dr. Abdelrahman tamimi
Since graduation, Dr.Tamimi has worked in the field of water resources in the Occupied Territories. During the last 25 years, activities focused on water resources and integrated rural development. Before the establishment of the Palestinian Authority he had been a member to the group of Palestinian counterparts to the EC and the World Bank. He shared in the initiation of priorities in planning for strategic projects. He also worked as a consultant for institutions working in developing water and environmental projects in the Occupied Territories (UNDP.GTZ,EU, AFD, World Bank. etc.) and as coordinator for many relevant international research projects such as those related to water policy, and water resources planning. His expertise is also prominent in water governance, institution building and reform.


Dr.Shaddad Attili
Ph.D. in Science and Industrial technology, Orleans, France. Dr. Attili is Minister affiliated to the Negotiation Department in charge of Water file for permanent status negotiations. Attili was the former Palestinian Minister of Water and Head of the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) from 2008 to 2014, during which he championed water law reform in the Palestinian Authority, enhanced efficient and effective PWA services for Palestinian residents, and strongly defended Palestinian water rights. In honor of his many contributions and accomplishments, Dr. Shaddad Attili was awarded in 2013 the France’s highest decoration, the Legion d’Honneur, by French President Francois Hollande.
Dr. Abdullah Musa Abu Eid
- Bachelor of law in 1960, then a master of international relations and PhD in international law from the University of Charles in Prague, both in English.
- Worked as a lawyer and legal adviser for about 12 years.
- He studied law and international relations at three Palestinian universities and three foreign universities, namely in Algeria, Belgium and the United States.
- Abu Eid received several research fellowships at foreign universities in Germany from DAAD (twice), a Fulbright fellowship for one year in Seattle, a British Council scholarship at the University of London (twice) and a research fellowship at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
- He has published dozens of papers in Arabic and English in specialized books and magazines, including 4 studies on water in Palestine.
Abu Eid was an associate professor until he retired in 2017