Hossain Mohammad Reza

PhD Candidate

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Reza’s doctoral project focuses on cross-jurisdictional studies of adaptation litigations for making more effective adaptation pathway choices for Bangladesh and India.

Prior to commencing his doctoral studies at Melbourne Law School, Reza worked in the judiciary of Bangladesh (Bangladesh Judicial Service) in different tiers as a judge. Reza worked with the Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs of Bangladesh, where he contributed to legal policy discourse and the amendment of laws and regulations. Reza collaborated with the Bangladesh Law Commission to publish a voluminous law lexicon. He also served the Bangladesh Judicial Service Commission (BJSC), an organization mandated to select suitable candidates for appointment to the Bangladesh Judicial Service. Previously, he worked as a lecturer at Premier University Chittagong and BGC Trust University Bangladesh, where he taught International Environmental Law, Constitutional Law, and English for Law.

Reza is a proud alumnus of Melbourne Law School who completed a Master in Environmental Law from the University of Melbourne qua Australian Awards Scholarships, 2018. He holds an LLB (Honours) and an LLM from the University of Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Reza has published articles on climate finance, experimentalist governance, North-South trade, and mediation of health disputes in the Journal of Environmental Law & Litigation (USA), The Adelaide Law Review (Australia), the Journal of Malaysian and Comparative Law (Malaysia) and Australian Journal of Asian Law (Australia). His paper was presented at the Asian Society of International Law (AsianSIL) Biennial Conference in Manila, The Philippines, in 2019. Reza has authored two highly acclaimed text books titled English for Law and Basic Concepts of Political Science. Both of his books are taught in various Law Faculties in Bangladesh.

Thesis Title

Coalescence of Climate Actions to Develop Effective Strategies for Adaptation Litigation: Australia, Bangladesh, and India Perspectives

Thesis Summary

The thesis will investigate the roles, barriers, and prospects of adaptation litigation in Bangladesh and India through the lens of the Australian experience. Though the courts in Bangladesh and India have rich jurisprudence on safeguarding nature, water pollution, and the quality of life of their citizens, there has been scant climate adaptation litigation in these two countries. In this context, the thesis will investigate why there is so little climate adaptation litigation in rapidly developing countries like Bangladesh and India, even with independent and activist judiciaries. Does the lack of litigation mean that litigation is not appropriate or desirable? Why might that be? This identification will help us to know the potential barriers that can stymie further development of climate litigation in other South Asian and other Global South countries that have yet to experience climate litigation.

Supervisors

  • Climate Change Law and Litigation
  • Planning and Developing Sustainable Cities
  • Third World Approaches to International Law
  • Health Law and Patient Protection