Surya Subedi

Subedi began his academic career as a Lecturer in Law in 1993 at the University of Hull. After promotion, he became a Professor of Law in 1999 at Hull. He moved to the University of Leeds to become Professor of International Law.[7]

He has taught and published in international investment law, international human rights law, the law of the sea, WTO law, and international environmental law. His publications include:[8]

1. ‘The Effectiveness of the UN Human Rights System: Reform and the Judicialisation of Human Rights ’ (Routledge 2017), which “creates a modern vision of the United Nations that could function better in a multipolar world to help secure a better mode of living for more people around the world”[9]
2. “The Universality of human rights and the UN human rights agenda: The impact of the shift of power to the East and the resurgence of the BRICs” (55 Indian Journal of International Law, 2015, which argues that human rights will not be impeded by the rise of the BRICs and other non-western-centric power polarities.[10]
3. ‘International Investment Law: Reconciling Policy and Principle’ published by Hart Publishing, Oxford. First published in 2008, it is now in its 4th edition. It has been translated into foreign languages, including Chinese and Persian, and published in several countries.[11]

Over his career, Subedi has assisted several governments in working towards establishing independent judiciaries and promoting and protecting human rights.[12]

Subedi was involved in the establishment of the Asian Society of International Law with its head office at the Faculty of Law of the National University of Singapore,[13] and is Chairman of the Board of Editors of the flagship publication of the Society – the Asian Journal of International Law – published by Cambridge University Press.[14] Prior to this, he was chief editor of the Asian Yearbook of International Law between 1999 and 2006 published by Martinus Nijhoff in The Hague.[15] He also is Chairman of the Research Committee of the Society and has led the establishment of nine study/interest groups of scholars from across Asia researching in international law. In addition, he is editor of a series of monographs on 'human rights and international law' published by Routledge (London/New York).[16]

He was appointed in 2004 by the World Trade Organization to the Roster of Panellists of its Dispute Settlement System. He was also designated to serve on the panel of arbitrators of an intergovernmental organization – the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) with its headquarters at the World Bank in Washington DC.[17]

The United Nations Human Rights Council voted unanimously for Subedi to be the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Cambodia at the 10th Session of the Council in 2009.[3] As one of only 12 country-specific UN special rapporteurs in the world, Subedi identified human rights problems in the country and gave recommendations to help tackle them. Responding to the news of his appointment, Subedi said: "The main task would be to cast an impartial expert eye on the overall human rights situation in Cambodia and offer constructive advice to the Government to address the problems that exist with regard to the overall situation in the country.[18]” When he commenced his human rights work in the county, the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, asked publicly Subedi to go back to his own country and sort out the political issues in the country rather than lecturing the Government of Cambodia on how to improve the situation of human rights. The Prime Minister had been irked by the reports of Subedi stating that the judiciary and electoral commission were not independent in the country. Subedi was on the verge of being declared a persona non-grata in Cambodia by the Government.[19] However, Subedi received support for his UN work from the international community, including the US President Barack Obama[20] and the European Parliament.

Subedi continued to argue that the Government of Cambodia should carry out political reforms in the country, stating that as long as Cambodia was a member of the UN it had an obligation to promote and protect human rights and he was appointed by the UN expert to help usher the country towards a genuine rule of law, stronger democracy and greater respect for human rights in the country.[21] Eventually, Prime Minister Hun Sen was persuaded to come around to working with Subedi.[22] During his six years of service for the UN, he produced a number of reports on judicial, parliamentary, electoral and land reform in Cambodia.[23] A number of his recommendations, including those relating to judicial and electoral reform have been implemented by the Government of Cambodia.[24]

Subedi was appointed a Queen's Counsel (QC) (Hon) in 2017 in recognition of his contribution to the development of international law and to the advancement of human rights. A press release of the British Government of January 2017 stated that Subedi had made "an exceptional contribution over a sustained period at the international level to develop international law and to advance human rights."[25]

Prior to this, he was made an OBE in 2004 for his services to international law. Speaking at the OBE investiture on 19 October 2004 in London, the British Foreign Secretary stated that Subedi had "made a highly distinguished contribution to our understanding of international law, and to its evolution" and his work in international law had "spanned almost every aspect of it – with a special focus on issues ... which make a real difference to people's lives".[26]

Subedi has a number of other honours, including the Dasturzada Pavry Memorial Prize by the University of Oxford for an outstanding DPhil thesis in 1993, an SPTL Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship by the British Society of Legal Scholars for one of his books in 1997 and the Josephine Onoh Memorial Prize as best LLM student of the year by the University of Hull in 1988. He also won a British Council Scholarship to study for an LLM in International Law.[27] He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Civil Law (DCL) by the University of Oxford in 2019, reportedly on the basis of "exceptionally insightful and distinctive publications that contain significant and original contributions to the study of law".[28]

He served on the Governing Board of SOAS, University of London from 2007 to 2012.[29]

• The Effectiveness of the UN Human Rights System: Reform and the Judicialisation of Human Rights (Routledge Publishing, London/New York, 2017).
• International Investment Law: Reconciling Policy and Principle (Hart Publishing, Oxford, 1st edition 2008, 2nd edition 2012, 3rd edition 2016 and 4th edition 2020. This book was translated into Chinese and Persian.[30]
• Dynamics of Foreign Policy and Law: A Study of Indo-Nepal Relations (Oxford University Press, 2005).
• International Watercourses Law for the 21st Century: The Case of the River Ganges Basin (Ashgate Publishing, UK, 2005).
• Contemporary Issues in International Law: A Collection of the Josephine Onoh Memorial Lectures (edited with Professors David Freestone and Scott Davidson), Kluwer Law International, The Hague/London (2002).
• Land and Maritime Zones of Peace in International Law (1996), Oxford Monographs in International Series, Clarendon: Oxford University Press, Oxford.
• Land-Locked Nepal in International Law (1989), K. Gautam, Kathmandu, Nepal.
• Nepalese Administrative Law (Ratna Book Publishers, Kathmandu, First edition 1985, Second edition 1987 and Third edition 1989).

• 'Responsibility to Protect and the International Military Intervention in Libya in International Law: What Went Wrong and What Lessons Could be Learnt from It?' (with Dr H. Teimouri) 23 (1) Journal of Conflict & Security Law (Oxford University Press, March 2018), pp.  1–30.
• 'Life as a UN Special Rapporteur: The Role of UN Special Rapporteurs in Developing International Law, the Impact of Their Work, and Some Reflections of the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Cambodia', (20) Asian Yearbook of International Law (2018), pp.  12–52.
• 'The Future of International Investment Regulation: Towards a World Investment Organisation?’ (with Dr Nicolette Butler) 64 (1) The Netherlands International Law Review (April 2017), pp.  43–72.
• 'The UN Human Rights Special Rapporteurs and the Impact of their Work: Some Reflections of the UN Special Rapporteur for Cambodia', 6 (1) Asian Journal of International Law (Cambridge University Press, January 2016), pp. 1–14.
• 'The Universality of Human Rights and the UN Human Rights Agenda: The Impact of the Shift of Power to the East and the Resurgence of the BRICS', 55 (2) Indian Journal of International Law (Springer, 2015), pp. 177–207
• 'India’s New Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Treaty with Nepal: A New Trend in State Practice' 28 (2) ICSID Review: Foreign Investment Law Journal (Oxford University Press, 2013), pp. 384–404.
• 'Protecting Human Rights through the Mechanism of UN Special Rapporteurs', 33 Human Rights Quarterly (The Johns Hopkins University Press, U.S.A.), 2011, pp. 201–228.
• 'The Notion of Free Trade and the First Ten Years of the World Trade Organization: How Level is the "Level Playing Field"?’ Vol. 53 (2) The Netherlands International Law Review (Autumn 2006), pp.273–296.
• 'The Challenge of Reconciling the Competing Principles within the Law of Foreign Investment with Special Reference to the Recent Trend in the Interpretation of the Term "Expropriation" International Lawyer (A journal of the American Bar Association’s International Law Section); Spring 2006; Vol. 40 (1), pp. 121–141.
• 'The Legal Regime Concerning the Utilization of the Water Resources of the River Ganges Basin', 46 German Yearbook of International Law (2004), pp. 452–493.
• 'The Road from Doha: The Issues for the Development Round of the WTO and the Future of International Trade', 52 (2) International and Comparative Law Quarterly (April 2003), pp. 425–446.
• 'Hydro-diplomacy in South Asia: The Conclusion of the Ganges and the Mahakali River Treaties', 93 (4) American Journal of International Law (October, 1999), pp. 631–640.
• 'The Legal Competence of the International Community to Create 'Safe Havens' in 'Zones of Turmoil', Journal of Refugee Studies, Vol. 12 (1), March 1999 (Oxford University Press), pp. 23–35.
• 'Protection of Women Against Domestic Violence: The Response of International Law' in the European Human Rights Law Review, Vol. 2, Issue 6, 1997, pp. 587–606.
• 'The Doctrine of Objective Regimes in International Law and the Competence of the UN Security Council to Impose Territorial or Peace Settlements on States', German Yearbook of International Law, Vol. 37 (1994), pp. 162–205.
• 'Neutrality in a Changing World: European Neutral States and the European Community', International and Comparative Law Quarterly (London), Vol. 42 (2), March 1993, pp. 238–268.
• 'The Marine Fishery Rights of Land-locked States with Particular Reference to the EEZ', International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law (London), Vol. 2, No. 4 (1987), pp. 227–239.

• 'The situation of human rights in Cambodia', Sixth Report (2014) (U.N. Doc. A/HRC/27/70);
• Fifth Report (2013) (U.N. Doc. A/HRC/24/36);
• Fourth Report (2012) (U.N. Doc. A/HRC/21/63);
• Third Report (2011) (U.N. Doc. A/HRC/18/46);
• Second Report (2010) (U.N. Doc. A/HRC/15/46);
• First Report (2009) (U.N. Doc. A/HRC/12/40);
• An additional report entitled 'A Human Rights Analysis of Economic and other Land Concessions in Cambodia' (2012) UN Doc. A/HRC/21/63/Add.1.