Zaid Deva

Zaid is a DPhil candidate at the Faculty of Law. His doctoral research examines the federal imaginaries of the state and state sovereignty in the Indian constitution-making project. 

Zaid completed his undergraduate law degree at Gujarat National Law University, India, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Student Law Review and Managing Editor of the Law & Society Review. He subsequently pursued an LLM at SOAS University of London, followed by an MPhil in Law at Oxford, where his research focused on constitutional pluralism in India. His professional experience spans both legal practice and research. Before beginning his DPhil, he practised before the High Court of Kashmir, having previously interned with a Judge of the Supreme Court of India and a former Additional Solicitor General. 

At Oxford, Zaid has served as a Lecturer at Trinity College and is currently a Research Officer with the Oxford Pro Bono Publico. His research interests include public law, international law, and legal history. 

Select Publications

1. “The tyranny of the singular”: In Re Article 370 and the problem of Indian constitutional history, Vol. 10(1) Indian Law Review 89-105 (2026)
2. ‘Article 370 judgment is a case of constitutional monism’ (The Hindu, 14 December 2023)