She was known for her expertise on marine environmental law, on international nuclear law, and on the operations of the International Maritime Organization,[1] and she became "one of the foremost legal authorities on maritime matters and liability for environmental damage".
[2] De La Fayette was born in Toronto in 1948,[1][2] the daughter of Balkan immigrants to Canada.
[2][3] After finishing her master's degree at Toronto, de La Fayette came to work for the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
[1][2] After teaching for a year at the University of Glasgow,[2] de La Fayette took a readership in 1996 in international law at the University of Southampton,[1][2] also becoming director of the Centre for Environmental Law at Southampton.
In 2002 she moved to the United Nations Department of Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea.