professor of law at Villanova School of Law
Phone:  610-519-7075 
Fax: 610-519-6282
Email: dellapen@law.villanova.edu
Professor Dellapenna's scholarly interests focus on water management and on
international and comparative law. His books include: Sueing Foreign Governments and
Their Corporations (2nd ed. 2002; 1st ed. 1988); Waters and Water Rights
(2001)(Co-author); Water Rights in the Eastern United States (1998) (co-author); Natural
Resources Law Manual (1997) (co-author); and Abortion and the Constitution (1987)
(co-author). Waters and Water Rights is the standard reference work on water law in the
United States. Professor Dellapenna also has written many scholarly articles on a broad
range of constitutional, environmental and international subjects, and he has made public
presentations at numerous national and international meetings. 

Professor Dellapenna has taught and held positions at several universities both here and
abroad. He is the only person ever to be a Fulbright Senior Lecturer in Law in both the
People's Republic of China (at Jilin University, 1987-88) and the Republic of China
(Taiwan) (at National Chengchi University, 1978-79). He was also a Fulbright Senior
Researcher in Law at the Directory-General of Natural Resources, Republic of Portugal
(1990). Professor Dellapenna has lectured widely at other foreign universities, and was
previously a member of the faculty at Willamette University College of Law and at the
University of Cincinnati College of Law. He has been a member of the faculty at Villanova
University since 1976. 

Professor Dellapenna is the Rapporteur for the Water Resources Committee of the
International Law Association with the charge to redraft the Helsinki Rules on
transboundary water management in light of developments in international water law and
international environmental law over the 35 years since the original Helsinki Rules were
approved. He has been an active member for more than ten years of the Task Committee of
the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for drafting two Model Water Codes and
chaired the working group that drafted the Regulated Riparian Model Water Code. He
ascended in 1995 to the chair of the Water Regulatory Standards Committee of ASCE to
direct completion of the Model Water Codes and the follow up standards, and also
supervises the working group for the drafting of a Model Interstate Water Compact. He has
also represented persons and groups in water litigation and consulted with governmental
and private bodies on drafting water laws and regulations. 

Professor Dellapenna is also an expert on transitional litigation in the United States,
and has worked as attorney, consultant, and expert witness in many such cases. His book,
Suing Foreign Governments and Their Corporations has been described by one book reviewer
as the “bible” for litigation under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (the
"Immunities Act"). The book was cited by both Justice Souter (writing for the
majority) and Justice Stevens (writing in dissent) in Saudi Arabia v. Nelson, 507 U.S.
349 (1993) as authoritative for the inter­pretation of the Act. A second edition of this
book was published in 2002. In addition, he has chaired the Committee on International
Litigation from 1993-1995 and the Committee on Chinese Law from 1995-1999, both under the
aegis of the Section of International Law and Practice of the American Bar Association.
He has also been the chair of the Law of the Pacific Region Interest Group of the
American Society of International Law since 1993. 

Professor Dellapenna has served as consultant to numerous private parties and foreign
governments, including o the Water Sector of the National Assessment of the Potential
Consequences of Climate Variability and Change of the United States Government, to the
Water Commission of the World Humanities Action Trust, Joint Management of Shared
Aquifers Project of the Palestine Consultancy Group and of the Harry S. Truman Research
Institute for the Advancement of Peace of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the
Associates for Middle East Research, Inc., the People's Republic of China, the
Republic of China. Among the honors he has received, he is an elected member of the
American Law Institute and the American Bar Foundation.