Aakarsh Banyal, Professor Sir Ian Brownlie DPhil Scholar
Aakarsh Banyal, Professor Sir Ian Brownlie DPhil Scholar Fellow
Programme: DPhil Law
Aakarsh is based at Exeter College and recently completed an MPhil. He is originally from northern India and attended school in New Delhi before pursuing the Bachelor of Civil Law at the University of Oxford.
His main areas of interest are public international law and international dispute settlement. His research now explores how international investment law treats such investments at sea and how the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and related agreements shape and influence the investment law framework.
The fellowship provides an opportunity for a current Oxford University student or recent graduate to work for 10 months at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The donation by Lady Christine Brownlie was made in honour of her husband, who was Chichele Professor of Public International Law at the University (from 1980 to 1999) and who appeared as counsel and advocate in numerous cases before the ICJ.
I am deeply grateful to be a Sir Ian Brownlie Judicial Fellow. This support is enabling me to pursue my DPhil in Law and I am sincerely thankful to Lady Christine Brownlie for her generous backing, as well as to the Public International Law Research Group, my supervisors, and the Faculty of Law for their invaluable support.
Alongside my doctoral studies, I hope to secure a pupillage and qualify as a barrister in the UK. Sir Ian’s enduring legacy has inspired many, including myself, to follow a path in international law. I hope to serve as a committed ambassador for the fellowship and the values it embodies through my work.