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Judge Bimal N. Patel

Judge Bimal N. Patel

Born: Khadol (Anklav Taluka) Gujarat, India, 29 June 1970.   

Education: PhD in International Law, Leiden University, The Netherlands (2015); PhD in International Law, Jaipur National University, India (2011); LLM in International Law, Leiden University, The Netherlands (1999); MA in International Relations, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands (1995); post-graduate studies in International Law and Relations, The Hague, Oslo, Heidelberg; BSc, Anand Agriculture University, India (1991).

Professional Experience: Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, The Hague, The Netherlands (1995–2008); Member, National Security Advisory Board of India (2016-present); Lead Academic Adviser during India’s tenure as UN Security Council member (2021–2022); Chair of the Working Group on Succession of States in respect of State Responsibility and Member of the UN International Law Commission (2023–present); Member, High-Level Advisory Board on Humanity in War, ICRC (2024-present); Group of Experts, International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea – San Remo Manual (2024-present); Law Commission of India (2016-2019); advisory and research experience in litigation and arbitration as well as Public Interest Director (non-executive) in public companies.

Academic Experience: Vice-Chancellor and Life-Time Professor of Public International Law, Rashtriya Raksha University (National Security University) (2019–present); Director / Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Public International Law, Gujarat National Law University (2008–2019); Gujarat Maritime University (2019); Visiting Professor, University of Barcelona, Spain; Hague University Faculty Member, The Netherlands; Visiting Scholar, Tel Aviv University, Israel (Invitee); Visiting Associate Professor, University of Malaya, Malaysia; Adjunct Professor, Sardar Patel University, V.V. Nagar, India; Visiting Professor & Advisor, MIT School of Government, Pune, India; Cambridge University; Institute of Social Studies, The Hague; Erasmus University of Rotterdam School of Law; University of Oslo, Norway; University of Rome, La Sapienza, Italy; University of Auckland, New Zealand; University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, among others. 

Member: Indian Society of International Law (Life Member and Honorary European Coordinator) (1998–present); Board of Governors, Charotar University of Science and Technology (2010–present); 21st Law Commission of India, Government of India (2015-2019); Board of Governors, National Maritime Foundation (2019–present); International Law Commission (2023–present); High-Level Advisory Board of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) (2024–present); Committee on Antarctic Governance and Environment Protection, India (2024–present); American Society of International Law (Co-Chair, Interest Group on Law of the Sea); have been a member of Australian-New Zealand, Indian, European Society of International Law; International Law Association,  Netherlands Association of International Law (NVIR), Indian Law Institute (Gujarat Chapter); ILA Committee on Teaching of International Law; Global Advisory Board, Center of Excellence in Alternative Dispute Resolution, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (2024–present); Indian Council of Arbitration (Life Individual Member)。 

Publications: Contributions to various conferences, seminars, media, etc.; authored or edited numerous books and research papers on classic, contemporary and emerging areas of international law, law of the sea, international dispute settlement, including: ITLOS Jurisprudence – 2026, 2nd Edition (Eastern Book Company, forthcoming 2026, foreword by Judge Tomas Heidar, President, ITLOS); Case Commentary, Case-Law Digest and Reference Guide, 1st ed. forewords by President Peter Tomka, ICJ, and Judge David Attard, ITLOS (Eastern Book Company, 2015); Law of the Sea and Maritime Law, Governance and Operational Issues: India – A Maritime Power Perspective (Eastern Book Company, upcoming 2026); The World Court Case-Law Digest and Reference Guide, 3rd ed., foreword by Judge Peter Tomka (Brill, upcoming 2026); The World Court Reference Guide and the Case-Law Digest 2000–2010, 2nd ed., foreword by President Peter Tomka, ICJ (The Hague: Nijhoff, 2014); The World Court Reference Guide: Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders of the PCIJ and ICJ (1922–2000), 1st ed., introduction by Shabtai Rosenne (The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 2002); A Commentary – International Litigation by and against India before the ICJ, PCA, ITLOS and WTO, forewords by Alain Pellet and Upendra Baxi (Eastern Book Company, 2018); Fiscal’s Friend – International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia Jurisprudence: ICTY Case-Law Digest (The Hague: ICTY, 2002); “Land-Locked Countries’ Perspective on the Sustainable Partnership for the Future of Ocean Governance”, commemoration of the 43rd anniversary of the entry into force of UNCLOS, Rashtriya Raksha University, 9 December 2025; “Emerging Issues in the Marine Environment and the Law of the Sea”, 2nd International Conference on Ocean Governance, University of Ghana, September 2025; “UNCLOS and Climate Change: ITLOS Advisory Opinion No. 31”, Indian Journal of International Law, 2025; International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) Jurisprudence (1994–2014): “Maritime Security and Sustainable Development and the Coastal Communities of India”, in: Niels Blokker et al. (eds.), Liber Amicorum Nico Schrijver: Furthering the Frontiers of International Law – Sovereignty, Human Rights, Sustainable Development (Leiden: Nijhoff, 2021); “Indian Presidency of the UN Security Council: Strengthening of a Comprehensive Maritime Security Normative Framework and Developments”, 11 AALCO Journal of International Law (2022–23); Indian Ocean and Maritime Security: Cooperation, Competition and Threats, ed. with William Nunes and Aruna Malik, foreword by Manohar Parrikar, Defence Minister of India (Routledge, 2016); Report on the Obligations under the UNCLOS – National Legislative Implementation Compliance Assessment of India (September 2017); Sustainable Development and India: Convergence of Law, Politics, Economics and Science, ed. with Ranita Nagar (Oxford University Press, 2017); “Sustainable Development and Marine Environment – A Preview of Legal Issues in India”, in: Sustainable Development and India (Oxford University Press, 2017); Marine Environment Law and Practice of China, India, Japan and Republic of Korea, Xiamen Academy of International Law (Leiden: Nijhoff, 2017); “Implementation of the Freedom of Navigation and the Law of the Sea: Prospects of Naval Competition and Cooperation in the Indian Ocean”, US Naval War College Workshop, Hawaii, 12–13 January 2016; “Good Order at Sea: Stability in the Indian Ocean”, UGC Centre for Maritime Studies, University of Pondicherry, February 2016; “The Bay of Bengal – Bangladesh–India Arbitration Award: Continuation of Dispute”, Military Law and Operations Edition 2016, US Department of Defense, Vancouver, March 2016; “State Practices on Antarctica and International Law: Attempt at Identification of India’s Interests, Needs and Concerns”, in: P.S. Goel, R. Ravindra and S. Chattopadhyay (eds.), Science and Geopolitics of the White World: Arctic–Antarctic–Himalaya (Springer, 2016); “Eight Dimensions of Maritime Security Law and Practice among Member States of the Indian Ocean Rim Association”, Law of the Sea Institute, University of Berkeley, Spain Proceedings, 2015; “Law of the Sea: Maritime Security Enforcement and Jurisdictional Issues for the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Member States”, Journal of the Indian Ocean Region (Routledge, 2014); Legal Road Map for Exploring and Exploiting Resources in the Indian Ocean, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India; Global Maritime Security and Anti-Piracy: Issues and Challenges 2011, with Hitesh Thakker and Asha Verma (New Delhi: Eastern Book Company, 2012); “Accountability of International Organisations in International Law Applicable to Cyber Operations”, in: Michael Schmitt (ed.), Tallinn Manual 2.0 on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Operations (Cambridge University Press, 2017); Responsibility of International Organisations: Regime of Legal Obligations between the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the European Union, foreword by C.F. Amerasinghe (New Delhi: Eastern Book Company, 2013); A Comprehensive Guide on the Laws of Human Rights in Commonwealth Countries (New Delhi: Wadhwa Publications, 2007); Treaty Law and Practice of Africa and Asia, Indian Council of World Affairs (2026); National Security of India and International Law, foreword by Henry Kissinger and Ajit Doval, National Security Adviser of India, introduction by Professor John Norton Moore, Virginia Law School (Brill, 2020); National Security Act(s) of India: Legal, Judicial and Inter-Disciplinary Perspective (Rashtriya Raksha University, 2023); The State Practice of India and the Development of International Law: Dynamics of Interplay between Foreign Policy and Jurisprudence (Leiden–Boston: Brill, 2016); India and International Law, vol. 1 (The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 2005); India and International Law, vol. 2 (The Hague: Nijhoff, 2008); “History of International Law in India between 1500–1945”, in: Bardo Fassbender, Anne Peters and Simone Peter (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the History of International Law (Oxford University Press, 2012); “80 Years of the ICJ – Bridging the Gap between Developed and Developing Nations in Accessing International Justice”, 3rd Forum, Beijing, September 2025; “Overview of the Work of the ILC on General Principles of Law and Way Forward”, report of the AALCO webinar on General Principles of Law and AALCO Member States, New Delhi, 2023; “Integrated Maritime Defence Policy and Strategy of India: Some Critical Ideas for Preparing a Blue-Print for India”, with Aruna Kumar Malik, Soumya Priyadarshinee and Udita Kanwar (Eastern Book Company, Delhi, 2012); “India and the United Nations Reform (2005–2006): An Insightful Interplay between International Relations and International Law”, in: B.N. Patel (ed.), India and International Law, vol. 2 (Leiden: Nijhoff, 2008); “International Court of Justice and India”, in: B.N. Patel (ed.), India and International Law (Leiden: Nijhoff, 2005); “Recommendations on the Enhancement of the Role and Effectiveness of the International Court of Justice and State Practice: Gap between Recommendations and Practice (1971–2006)”, Singapore Yearbook of International Law, 2008; “The Concept of Peace Dividend and Chemical Weapons Disarmament”, 42 Indian Journal of International Law 2 (2005); “Resolution 1540 and the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction”, African Yearbook of International Law, 2003; “La Cour internationale de Justice plus sollicitée et plus active que jamais”, Revue d’analyse juridique de l’actualité internationale, 2002; “Judicial and Administrative Activities of the ICJ – Year 2001”, 42 Indian Journal of International Law 3 (2002); “Renaissance of the International Court of Justice: An Overview of the Judicial and Administrative Activities of the ICJ in 2000”, 41 Indian Journal of International Law 2 (2001); “Protection Zones in International Humanitarian Law”, 4 Indian Journal of International Law 39 (1999); “Do the Rules of Evidence and Procedure of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Ensure a Fair Trial?”, 3 Indian Journal of International Law 39 (1999).