Arbaz Muzaffer

• LLM International Law, Lovely Professional University, Punjab (India)
• BA LLB, Central University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir

I am a full-time Doctoral Researcher at the Birmingham Law School in my second year coming from an LLM in International Law and an undergraduate integrated BA LLB degree. My research is primarily funded by Midlands4Cities (M4C) - AHRC. I am also an M4C SAF (Student Advisory Forum) representative for the University of Birmingham for the year 2022-2023 and a student representative (PGR) for the Birmingham Law School. After my undergraduate degree, I practised law at the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and developed an interest in human rights and the laws governing them. This sparked in me, an interest in further research which finally led me to my LLM in International Law. The postgraduate study in international law introduced me to a broad rubric of international legal principles and my master's research which included a critical analysis of laws with colonial origins and interviews with victims of conflict helped me form the base of my future and full-fledged doctoral research. Before undertaking my PhD study at the University of Birmingham, I taught at a local law college in Kashmir teaching International Law and Administrative Law Modules. I also mentored and supervised several moot court classes and prepared students for mock trials and similar events.

• Teaching Associate - Birmingham Law School - Start Date: January 2023
• Lecture (Law) - Kashmir Creative Education Foundation (KCEF) Law College (2021)

PhD title

A TWAIL and a postcolonial analysis of the possibilities for self-determination in Kashmir

Supervisors

Professor Mohammad (Shahab) Shahabuddin and Professor Alexander Orakhelashvili

The right to self-determination under international law has been somewhat conflicting throughout history. It continues to be obscure and ambiguous as to its scope and content. Kashmir (Indian administered) which has been in a violent conflict since the creation of the postcolonial state of India and Pakistan presents itself as a classic example of an arguably failed self-determination case. This research through a TWAIL (Third World Approaches to International Law) lens aims to revisit the right to self-determination and its contours with a focus on the conflict in Kashmir while keeping a focus on the aspect than can develop into a proper but conditional remedial model of right to self-determination.

Memberships

• Enrolled in Jammu & Kashmir State Bar Council as Advocate under Licence number "JK520/2018"
• Member of the Socio-Legal Studies Association - Birmingham Law School
• Member of the Global Legal Studies reading group - Birmingham Law School

Trips and workshops

• Second-Year Hybrid Stretch Immersive. A mixture of in-person and online workshops. 17-21 October 2022, Orchard Hotel, University of Nottingham, University Park Campus
• 2-Day Residential Workshop for BLS PhD Researchers and Early Career Researchers, Woodland Grange Hotel, Old Milverton Lane, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, 26-27 March 2022
• First Year Thesis Writing Workshop with Marina Benjamin, March 2022
• Participant – Research Relays - 2022 Midlands4Cities Research Festival
• Winner of College of Arts and Law Special Award, Postgraduate Research Festival 2022, University of Birmingham

Conferences

• International Seminar on Protection of Child Rights and Law Relating to Women Empowerment in India. Paper: Women of Conflict - Human Rights and Kashmir, The Indian Law Institute, New Delhi (January 2020)
• National Seminar on Child Rights: Socio-Economic and Cultural Dimensions. Paper(s): Street Children in India: A Vexatious Reality. Co-author: Afghan Children in India: Status and Their Rights, and Child Labour: A Slaughter of Laughter, University Institute of Legal Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh (February 2020)
• Participant in National Seminar on Law, Medicine & Ethics. School of Legal Studies, Central University of Kashmir, Srinagar (October 2017)
• Rapporteur in International Seminar on "Gender Justice – A Way Forward", Department of Law, University of Kashmir, Srinagar (October 2013)