Endalew Lijalem Enyew
Job description
Associate Professor
Leader of the Research Group for Sámi and Indigenous Peoples' Law
Faculty of Law, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway
Tromso, Norway
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Publikasjoner utenom Cristin
EL Enyew, 'Efficiency Defence: Its Recognition under Ethiopian Competition Law' (2011) 1 Addis Ababa Students Law Review 88.
Research interests
The Law of the Sea, International Human Rights Law, Environmental Law, Indigenous Peoples' Law, Climate change and green energy transition vis-a-vis rights of indigenous peoples, critical legal theories focusing on the Third World approaches to international law (TWAIL), Peace and Conflict Studies, Restorative Justice, and Ethiopian company and competition law.
Teaching
PhD Course, JUR-8014: Sustainable Marine Arctic and Law of the Sea in Context, 2024.
JUR-3053: The law of the sea in the Arctic, Reading seminars, 2023.
Winter School, 'Indigenous Peoples' Rights to the Sea', Winter School for European Law Students Association (WELS), Faculty of Law, UiT, Spring 2023.
JUR-3053: The law of the sea in the Arctic, Writing Course, 2022.
JUR-3053-1: Indigenous Peoples in the Arctic and the Law of the Sea (2015-2024)
JUR-3605: Indigenous Peoples' Rights (2017-2018, 2022)
Ethiopian Laws (2009-2011): Constitutional Law, Labor Law, Criminal Law, Electoral Law, Commercial Law, Law of Contracts, and Family Law.
Member of research group / centre
Member of project
Governance of Land and Natural Resources in Sápmi – a legal approach
An Exchange Program on Empathy, Compassion, and Care in Water Governance, from the Perspective of Integral Ecology
Green Transition and Indigenous Peoples’ Rights
The Ocean Decade Blue Catalyst
CV
Endalew Lijalem Enyew is an Associate Professor and leader of the Research Group for Sámi and Indigenous Peoples' Law at the Faculty of Law, UiT The Arctic University of Norway. He holds a PhD in Law (UiT, 2020), a Master of Philosophy in Peace and Conflict Transformation (UiT, 2013), an LL.M. in Business Law (Addis Ababa University, 2011), and an LL.B. (Hawassa University, 2009). He completed both his LL.B. and LL.M. with great distinction, receiving a Gold Medal for his LL.B. and the Top-Scoring LL.M. Student Award. In addition, he holds a diploma in the Law of the Sea and Ocean Governance from the Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy (University of Virginia, 2015), and he completed one-year courses in Indigenous Studies at the Center for Sámi Studies at the University of Tromsø, Norway (August 2013- May 2014).
While Enyew’s academic background spans several areas of law and social science, his research over the past decade has focused on the law of the sea, environmental law, human rights law, Indigenous peoples’ rights, climate change and the green energy transition in relation to Indigenous peoples’ rights, and critical legal theory, particularly Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL). To date, Enyew has authored and co-authored 32 scholarly publications, including two books, published in leading peer-reviewed journals and academic publishers. His recent book is titled “Indigenous Peoples, Marine Space and Resources, and International Law: The Interaction between International Human Rights Law and the Law of the Sea” (Routledge, 2024). His research aims to contribute to legal scholarship and interdisciplinary research, inform decision-makers and practitioners, and generate broader societal impact. The influence of his work is reflected, among other things, in its use by international bodies. For example, a co-authored book chapter on the rights of Indigenous peoples in marine areas was cited with evident approval by Judge Ad Hoc McRae of the International Court of Justice in the 2022 judgment in the Nicaragua v. Colombia Case. In recognition of his innovative research, the Faculty of Law at UiT nominated him for the Stig Strömholm Prize in 2023, an award recognising outstanding contributions by young researchers in the social sciences and humanities. The Faculty further nominated him for the UiT Prize for Outstanding Young Researcher in both 2024 and 2025.
Enyew leads and participates in several research projects. He currently leads the UiT Talent project on strengthening the Research Group for Sámi and Indigenous Peoples’ Law (RGSIPL), funded by UiT, and co-leads two projects. These are the “GRIP-Bear: Research Collaboration on Climate Change, Green Energy Transition, and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region” project (2026), funded by the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, and the Nordic Research Network for Sámi and Indigenous Peoples’ Law (NORSIL) project (2025–2027), funded by the Nordic Joint Committee for Agricultural and Food Research. He has also contributed actively to projects on: “Governance of Land and Natural Resources in Sápmi (GoSapmi), ‘Developing good ocean governance of the Arctic in times of unpredictable and rapid changes (DOGA)’, and the ‘Future Arctic Law and Governance (FALG)’ – all funded by the Research Council of Norway (RCN). In addition, he has served as a member of the Steering Committee for the NORSIL network and as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for a project on Indigenous participation in the International Seabed Authority and institutions established under the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement).
Enyew disseminates his research through presentations at national, Nordic, and international conferences, as well as through blog posts and other public-engagement activities. He has taught a range of courses and supervised several master's and PhD students at the Faculty of Law of UiT (2015-2026), and taught at higher education institutions in Ethiopia, including Addis Ababa University (2009–2011), and at the Ted Stevens Center for Security Studies in Alaska, United States (2024 and 2026).