IHL and Child Rights Competition

26/04/2019

Our colleagues Deeksha Gujral and Nayantara Raja were judges for the IHL and Child Rights Competition organised by Nalsar, University of Law and UNICEF. The competition was a unique, first of its kind in India where students were required to apply principles of International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law to a fictional conflict situation.

It was truly illuminating to interact with the lawyers of tomorrow! We were thrilled to see the number of students who were interested in International Human Rights Law and Humanitarian Law! We hope to engage with NALSAR and the students on such events in the future.

17/04/2019

12/04/2019

Here's the profile of our next judge for the competition-

Balakista Reddy - Registrar, NALSAR University of Law

Since the beginning of his legal education, Prof. Dr. V. Balakista Reddy has always been keen on acquiring knowledge in the field of international law. His graduation and post-gradation studies continued in the evening colleges, given the fact that he had to sustain himself financially by working during day time in various private organizations. After graduating in law, he pursued post-graduate studies in International law. Through perseverance and determination to excel in this field of law, not only did he concentrate on his research to understand the principles, but also always tried to keep abreast with the developments in the field through active participation in Seminars and Workshops and presenting papers.
Today’s academic education is not only restricted to giving lectures but he believes in organizing different International and national level extracurricular legal activities in university. He has always focused on organizing International/National Moot Courts Competition, Conferences, Workshops, Debate, Literary & Cultural Fest, Penal Discussion, Guest Lectures, Parliamentary Recommendation on bills, Parliamentary debate, Zest etc. He recently had the privilege of organizing the 78th Session of the Institute of International Law (Institut de droit international), an institute which has won Nobel Peace Prize in 1904 for its contribution to the field of International Law and peaceful settlement of disputes. It has as its members many scholars of international law including sitting and retired judges of International Court of Justice and many other international tribunals, professors from Harvard, Oxford and Yale.
His hobbies include reading newspapers, mentoring, farming, swimming and travelling and interacting with people from different walks of life.

12/04/2019

Here's the profile of our next judge for the competition-

Danushka S. Medawatte is a lecturer attached to the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo where she teaches Constitutional Law, and International Humanitarian Law. Her research interests lie in enforced disappearances and missing persons, power-sharing mechanisms and critical legal approaches to international law. Danushka Medawatte graduated from the Faculty of Law with a second class upper division and subsequently completed her Master of Laws degree at Harvard Law School specializing in Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law, and International Criminal Law.

11/04/2019

Here's the profile of our next judge for the competition-

Nayantara graduated from University Law College, Bangalore in 2013, and completed her LL.M in Human Rights, Conflict and Justice from SOAS, University of London in 2016. She has previously worked as a researcher on the rights of children with disabilities at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore. Nayantara currently works for the Migration and Asylum Project where she provides legal assistance to clients who are survivors of torture and other forms of persecution. She undertakes casework and accompanies clients to the UNHCR for their asylum interviews. She also manages the organization’s media presence.

11/04/2019

Here's the profile of our next judge for the competition-

Rohini Sen is an Assistant Professor and Assistant Dean (International Collaborations) at the Jindal Global Law School, O.P Jindal Global University. She has an LL.M. in International Law from the University of Leeds in 2012 and an Undergraduate Degree of B.Sc LLB Law from Gujarat National Law University (2006-2011). Rohini is an early career scholar with 6 years of teaching experience at the Jindal Global Law School and is also appointed as a Visiting Faculty Member at various institutes across India. She s an Assistant Director for the Centre for Human Rights Studies and JGLA and is currently heading a research project on sexual harassment law and policies in Higher Education Institutes in India. She is engaged in teaching and research on the Critiques of International Law, Public International Law, International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law.

05/04/2019

Here's the profile of our next judge for the competition -

Deeksha studied Law at the University of Cambridge. She previously worked as a law clerk for a judge of the Supreme Court, a legal consultant to an international research organisation working on food sustainability, and practiced criminal and civil litigation in New Delhi for three years.

At M.A.P. (Migration And Asylum Project), Deeksha’s work focuses on making the Indian justice system more responsive for survivors of sexual and gender based violence within the refugee community.

03/04/2019

A brief profile of our next judge -

Bhavinee Singh completed her LL.M. in Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law from Emory University School of Law, Atlanta. She was a member of the International Humanitarian Law Clinic at Emory and worked on projects with the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Singh has been the recipient of the David J. Bederman Fellowship Award for the study of Public International law at The Hague Academy of International Law. Singh previously worked at The Carter Center in Atlanta with their Human Rights Program on their projects focusing on women and girls in Ghana and Nigeria. She was the research assistant to Professor Johan D. van der Vyver, I.T. Cohen Professor of International Law and Human Rights at Emory University.

Singh also served as the student Vice Chairperson for the Centre for International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights at Institute of Law, Nirma University. She currently works as the Lead Program Manager at PRATYeK, a child rights organisation that convenes the national level "NINEISMINE" campaign.

02/04/2019

Introducing our next judge for the competition -

Juhi is an international human rights lawyer, specialising in refugee law. Currently, she is working with TERI on issues of climate change and forced migration. She also teaches International Humanitarian Law at NLU Delhi.

In the past, she has worked with UNICEF, Geneva and participated in the Human Rights Council and sessions of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. She has also worked with the protection unit at UNHCR Delhi, focusing on community building and child protection.

27/03/2019

Introducing the 3rd judge for the competition -

Syed Ali is the coordinator of the United Nations- mandated University for Peace in India. He has worked as a Researcher at the RIS (Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries), Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. He was part of the team which organised the annual meeting for the AIIB in India in 2018. His research in ‘Port and Coastal infrastructure; led to the change in the Cabotage policy.

He is an International Relations professional with thorough interest in the Latin American affairs. He has also worked with the Ambassador of Costa Rica. He has lived and worked in Ukraine and Costa Rica. He holds a masters degree in International Law and Settlement of Disputes from the United Nations- mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica.