Phone: (206) 616-8441
Email: arama@uw.edu
B.A. 1988, J.D. 1992, Harvard University M.A. 1990, University of Sydney
Banking Law — Comparative Law — Human Rights — International Business and Trade Law — International Law
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Anita Ramasastry is the Henry M. Jackson Professor of Law and the Director of the Sustainable International Development Graduate Program at the University of Washington School of Law. She is an expert in the fields of anti-corruption, commercial law, sustainable development, and business and human rights. She is one of the leading academics and a pioneer in the field of business and human rights and responsible business conduct.
Ramasastry is currently a commissioner on the Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, chaired by the former UK Prime Minister, Baroness Theresa May. Ramasastry is one of five legal experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to advise the Open-Ended Intergovernmental Working Group drafting a business and human rights treaty. She also serves as a legal advisor to a second international negotiation concerning an international regulatory framework for private and military security companies, also at the UN Human Rights Council.
From 2016–2022, she served as a member of the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights, having been appointed as a rapporteur by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2016. She previously served as its chair in 2020. From 2020–2024, Ramasastry was appointed as the Special Representative on Combatting Corruption at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Ramasastry is a founding Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Business and Human Rights Journal, published by Cambridge University Press. She is a board member and founder of the Global Business and Human Rights Scholars Association and launched its annual research scholars forum.
From 2017–2019, Ramasastry served as President of the Uniform Law Commission, the 127-year-old organization comprised of lawyers from the 50 states that work to harmonize laws where uniformity is desirable. She was previously Chair of its Executive Committee and is an appointed Commissioner from Washington State.
In the past, she has advised and worked with development organizations including the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Commission, the Commercial Law Development Program of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and USAID. In 2019, she served as a commissioner on the Liechtenstein Initiative Commission on Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking.
From 2009 to 2012, Ramasastry served as a senior advisor in the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, working under the leadership of then-Secretary Gary Locke. She directed the ITA's anti-corruption and trade efforts and helped to launch new initiatives with the G20, APEC, and the OSCE. She developed a new anti-corruption and business and human rights curriculum for U.S. trade officers in embassies worldwide.
In 1998–99, she served as a special attorney and advisor to a special claims resolution tribunal in Zurich, Switzerland, established to resolve claims to World War II-era bank accounts. She has been a visiting professor and Atlantic Fellow in Public Policy at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary, University of London, and has been a recurrent visiting professor at the National University of Ireland in Galway and the Central European University in Budapest.
She has served as a staff attorney at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, an associate attorney at the international law firm of White & Case in Budapest, Hungary, and assistant professor of law at the Central European University in Budapest. She was the symposium editor for the Harvard International Law Journal and has clerked for Justice Alan B. Handler of the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Ramasastry has been recognized by students as the Philip A. Trautman Professor of the Year on numerous occasions. In 1998, she received the UW Distinguished Teaching Award during her second year of teaching, and in 2002, she received the UW Outstanding Public Service Award for her work focused on domestic violence.
For the past 80 years, the Fulbright Program has supported scholars, artists, writers, and professionals in connecting with international institutions to do cutting-edge work. We discuss what the Fulbright is, why it matters, and how federal funding freezes are impacting international research. Professor Ramasastry is a guest.
The University of Washington announced a transformational gift from the Barer family to the School of Law, expanding the couple’s namesake institute: The Barer Institute for Leadership in Law & Global Development.
The UW School of Law received a $45 million gift from the estate of Stan and Alta Barer, it announced Tuesday. The gift supports a program focused on developing legal professionals from low-income countries, bringing working experts to UW for about one year while providing tuition and housing support during the stint. UW President Ana Mari Cauce is quoted, and Anita Ramasastry, professor of law at the UW, is mentioned.
Ramasastry’s role in the commission includes joining a working group focused on forced labor and modern slavery in global supply chains. The group also looks at the roles that the private sector plays. The law professor says she sees significant gaps in addressing child labor and migrant labor recruitment.
Anita Ramasastry, a law professor and director of the Sustainable International Development graduate program at the University of Washington, said she wasn’t surprised that the sustainable development goals are off track. Ramasastry, who had no part in the report, said she doesn’t think many governments with more advanced economies, like the U.S., have embraced the goals or made them relevant to citizens’ daily lives.
In the final episode of this series of GBI Conversations, Anita Ramasastry, Senior Advisor to GBI discusses what commercial lawyers can do to support their companies to navigate mandatory human rights due diligence requirements in a meaningful and effective way, and shares insights on how to scale expertise among the legal profession to ensure companies can access high-quality advice and support.
When Kris Blondin saw a $1,252 charge on her credit card statement, it was clear to her that she had been squared up by a scammer. After documents showed a fake Square account charged Blondin’s credit card, Bank of America wouldn’t provide a refund. So KIRO 7's Jesse Jones checked her story. Anita Ramasastry, professor of law at the UW, is quoted.
"OSCE Anti-Corruption Representatives: The anti-corruption prosecutor's mission is difficult, and she will need all the support." (The article is written in Moldovan; Professor Ramasastry is interviewed in English.)
Members and witnesses examined how the fossil fuel industry uses SLAPPs to target environmental activists and non-profits to deter them from speaking out against proposed fossil fuel pipelines and other projects that contribute to climate change.
Ever since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in late February, companies doing business in Russia have faced a critical decision: Should we stay or should we go? Anita Ramasastry, professor of law at the UW, is quoted.
As the Ukraine war drags on, businesses weigh up the ethical risks of staying in Putin’s Russia. Anita Ramasastry, professor of law at the UW, is quoted.
A growing number of top Western brands and business interests are exiting Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, hoping to pressure Moscow — and specifically President Vladimir Putin — to reverse course. Anita Ramasastry, professor of law at the UW, is quoted.
One year on from Myanmar's military coup, the United States, Britain and Canada have slapped new economic sanctions on Myanmar's military. Australia's Woodside Petroleum has announced it's following multinational energy giants Chevron and Total in exiting the military-controlled state, saying it's unable to work in the country while violence and human rights abuses continue. Anita Ramasastry, professor of law at the UW, is interviewed.
Henry M. Jackson Professor of Law Anita Ramasastry was a featured guest on GBI Conversations, the podcast of the Global Business Initiative on Human Rights.
The University of Washington School of Law celebrates strategic growth, welcoming 10 new faculty members and four new deans into the 2024–25 academic year.
Anita Ramasastry applies law, policy and politics to fight corruption and defend human rights around the world. (Source: The Whole U)
Professor Ramasastry is now ambassador of a global advisory body advancing the rule of law.
Anita Ramasastry has been appointed to The Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, which launched this month to address one of the greatest human rights issues of our time.
In three minutes, Anita Ramasastry, Henry M. Jackson Professor of Law at UW Law, explains why a debt ceiling is necessary, how it is raised and the ruinous effects that may occur if the United States is ever unable to pay its financial obligations.