Bimal N. Patel

For the architect, see Bimal Patel (architect). For the former assistant secretary of the Treasury Department, see Bimal Patel (attorney).

Bimal N. Patel is an International Law Jurist, academician, administrator, and international relations scholar. He is also a professor and the Vice-Chancellor of Rashtriya Raksha University. Patel has been serving as a Member of the National Security Advisory Board, an advisory board to the National Security Council headed by the Prime Minister of India. He is a member of the Financial Sector Regulatory Appointments Search Committee (FSRASC), headed by the Cabinet Secretary. Patel served as the Director of the Gujarat National Law University for two consecutive terms from 2008 to 2019. He was appointed by a high-level committee headed by the then Chief Justice of India, K G Balakrishnan, at the Supreme Court of India.^[1][2] He was also one of the Lead Academic Advisers to India during India's tenure as a member of the UN Security Council 2021-22.^[3] He is a member of the Editorial Board of the ICRC International Review of the Red Cross, Geneva. Patel is co-chair of the American Society of International Law Interest Group on Law of the Sea ^[4] and a Member of Antarctica Environment Protection and Governance Committee, Government of India.

Bimal N. Patel
UN's International Law Commission
In office 13 November 2021 – Present
Vice Chancellor, Rashtriya Raksha University, Gujarat, India
In office 20 January 2020 – Present
Member, National Security Advisory Board, India
Officer on Special Duty, Raksha Shakti University
In office 16 July 2019 – 19 January 2020
Director, Gujarat National Law University
In office 8 November 2008 – 15 July 2019
Succeeded by	Sanjeevi Shanthakumar
Personal details
Alma mater	University of Leiden, Netherlands
Profession	Administrator, Scholar-Academician, International Law Jurist
Website	RRU

Education

Patel was awarded the first Doctorate of Philosophy in International Law and Governance by the Jaipur National University, under the guidance of Professor V. S. Mani and the second Ph.D. in International law from the prestigious Leiden University. He acquired an LLM in International Law from Leiden University and a Master of Arts in International Relations from the University of Amsterdam. He also obtained Post master's degree Graduate Diploma in International Relations from the University of Amsterdam and Post Graduate Diploma in International Relations and Development from the Institute of Social Studies, the Hague, The Netherlands. He received Post Graduate Summer School Certificate in International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Government from the University of Oslo, Norway. He completed his undergraduate studies in Agriculture Science from the Gujarat Agriculture University.

Career

Patel served the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the Hague between 1995 and 2009. Patel has researched on the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice, ITLOS, ICTY, and ILOAT. He has published and edited several books, research papers/articles/surveys in leading academic and international law journals. He has experience in designing and implementing international and national development and research programs and projects and networking and coordination with governmental agencies, UN bodies, and academic/research institutions in various parts of the world.

He has published, edited several books, research papers/articles/surveys in leading academic and international law journals. He possesses practical experience in dealing with international administrative law (international civil service laws) and organizational staff-management bodies. He has delivered lectures at Cambridge University, UK, Hague Academy of International Law, the Netherlands, Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, the Netherlands, Erasmus University of Rotterdam School of Law, the Netherlands, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway, University of Rome, La Sapienza, Rome, Italy, University of Auckland, New Zealand, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.^[5][6][7] He was also specially invited to address the World Ocean Science Congress.^[8] He was also appointed as a member of the search panel for the selection of Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)^[9] and as a member of the six-member panel headed by cabinet secretary PK Sinha to recommend the Chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Patel is also member of the high level National Security Advisory Board of India.^[10]

Term as Vice Chancellor of Rashtriya Raksha University

Bimal Patel assumed the charge of the Director-General of Rashtriya Raksha University (erstwhile Rakasha Shakti University) on 20 January 2020.^[11]

Term as director of GNLU

Patel was appointed director of GNLU in 2008.^[12] Under the leadership of Patel, GNLU has had steady growth. Since 2011, GNLU has started receiving US$2 million grants from the UGC under its five-year plan for general and overall development. He is credited to have played a pioneering role and responsibility in creating a world-class campus of GNLU spread across 50 acres of land given by the State Government of Gujarat and further generous assistance of nearly US$40 million by the Gujarat Government. He has been instrumental in starting many new courses and programs and has transformed the academic system of GNLU by adopting the Research-Based Teaching University curriculum. He also brought two prestigious global level conferences in India the Prestigious External Program of the Academy in collaboration with the Hague Academy of International Law, one of the most prestigious international law academies, and the Global Maritime Conference where the Under Secretary-General of the United Nations delivered the keynote. Diplomats and administrators of more than 10 countries were present. Judges of the International Court of Justice and International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea were among the participants. Ambassadors and diplomats of different nations took part in this conference along with senior officers of the Indian Government. He was also designated as the Resource Person, UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), Geneva. He has successfully initiated and implemented LLM, Ph.D., diploma, and certificate programs, including on-line programs in law and interdisciplinary fields. He has pioneered in initiating several executive training programs for members of the executive, judiciary, government departments, defense forces, NGOs, among others. He has been instrumental in the public-private partnership model through establishing various chairs and fellowships in the areas of Law of the Sea, Intellectual Property Rights, Mergers and Acquisitions, Labour Laws, Real Estate, Energy Law, Environment and Sustainable Development, International Contracts among others. He has contributed to the creation of a Research-based Teaching University and Research-based Administrative University model, respectively.

2016

In 2016, Gujarat National Law University hosted the 8th edition of the GNLU International Moot Court Competition (GIMC) in collaboration with the Competition Commission of India, attracting national and international teams to discuss contemporary legal challenges in competition law.^[13] The university also signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with various international institutions to promote research collaboration, academic exchange, and global engagement.^[14]

That same year, GNLU was involved in legal proceedings following the case of Jaymin Rajendra Brahmbhatt v. Gujarat National Law University and 5 Others.^[15] The Gujarat High Court set aside a university disciplinary committee’s order and criticized procedural lapses, calling the university an "epitome of injustice".^[16][17] The university filed a letters patent appeal and sought urgent hearing, which was declined by the court.^[18] The matter was eventually resolved with the court ordering an independent inquiry as agreed between both parties.^[19]

Bills/acts drafted

The United Nations, the Government of India, and the Government of Gujarat have engaged Patel to act as Adviser to many Ministries and Departments and has been deputed to draft both international, national, and state-level legislation.

• Antarctica Act of India;^[20]
• Deep Seabed Mining Act of India;^[21]
• Corporate Social Responsibility Policy for Public Sector Undertakings;
• Acts establishing universities such as Gujarat Sports University, Children University, Indian Institute of Teachers' Education, Gujarat State Litigation Policy;
• Gujarat Ombudsman (Lokayukta) Bill;
• Zero Landfill Regulations for 15 Wastes (Legal Guidelines for the Reduction, Recycling and Reuse of Waste);
• Temple Trust Bill;
• Draft Statute for Gujarat State Law Commission;
• Salt-pan Workers' Welfare Regulations; among others.
• Anti-Piracy Bill of India
• Merchant Shipping Code
• Private Maritime Security Companies Rules ^[22]
• Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act 2015

Work

Dispute Settlement – International and National Courts and Tribunals

• The World Court Case-Law Digest and Reference Guide (3rd Edition, being finalized)
• The World Court Reference Guide and the Case-Law Digest 2000-2010 (2nd ed.) (foreword by President Peter Tomka, ICJ), (The Hague: Nijhoff, 2014) ^[23]
• 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) ^[24]
• A Commentary – International Litigation by and against India before the ICJ, PCA, ITLOS, and WTO, (Foreword by Prof. Allain Pellet and Professor Upendra Baxi) (EBC, 2018)
• ITLOS Jurisprudence (1994-2014): Case Commentary, Case-Law Digest, and Reference Guide (foreword by President Peter Tomka, ICJ, and Judge David Attard, ITLOS) (EBC, 2015) ^[25]
• Fiscal’s Friend – International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia Jurisprudence, ICTY Case-Law Digest (The Hague: ICTY, 2002)

Law of the Sea and Maritime Laws

• UNCLOS and Climate Change: ITLOS Advisory Opinion No. 31 (Upcoming in the Indian Journal of International Law)
• Maritime Security and Sustainable Development and the Coastal Communities of India in Niels Blokker (eds.), Liber Amicorum Nico Schrijver: Furthering the Frontiers of International Law: Sovereignty, Human Rights, Sustainable Development (Leiden: Nijhoff, 2021), 247-263
• 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), 15-23
• Indian Ocean and Maritime Security: Cooperation, Competition and Threats, Bimal N. Patel, William Nunes, and Aruna Malik (eds.) (Foreword by Mr. Manohar Parrikar, Defense 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, Bimal N. Patel and Ranita Nagar (eds.) (Oxford University Press, 2017) ^[26]
• “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 the 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

International Organisations

• 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: EBC, 2013) ^[27]
• A Comprehensive Guide on the Laws of Human Rights in Commonwealth Countries (Wadhwa Publications, New Delhi, 2007) ^[28]

State Practice and International Law

• National Security of India and International Law, Foreword by Dr. Henry Kissinger, Mr. Ajit Doval, National Security Adviser of India, and Introduction by Professor John Norton Moore, Virginia Law School (Brill, 2020) ^[29]
• National Security Act(s) of India: Legal, Judicial, and Inter-Disciplinary Perspective, Rashtriya Raksha University, 2023 ^[30]
• The State Practice of India and the Development of International Law: Dynamics of Interplay between Foreign Policy and Jurisprudence (Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2016) ^[31]
• India and International Law (Volume 1) (The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 2005) ^[32]

Awards

• Visiting Professor, University of Barcelona, Spain
• Hague University Faculty Member, the Netherlands
• External Examiner, University of Mauritius, Mauritius
• Visiting Associate Professor, University of Malaya, Malaysia
• Visiting Professor & Eminent Scholar Member, Gujarat National Law University, India
• Adjunct Professor, Sardar Patel University, V. V. Nagar, India
• Visiting Professor & Advisor, MIT School of Government, Pune, India
• Member, ILA Committee on Teaching of International Law
• Life Member and Honorary European Coordinator, Indian Society of International Law
• Member, American, Australian-New Zealand, Indian, European Society of International Law, International Law Association, Netherlands Association of International Law (NVIR)