Ishrat is a PhD Candidate at the Melbourne Law School and her doctoral research focuses on the challenges arising from the river rights model of Bangladesh in respect of the rights and liabilities of the rivers.
Prior to joining Melbourne Law School, she worked as a judge and mediator at various courts of first instance (civil and family) in Bangladesh. She also performed as a first-class magistrate in executing civil and family court decrees. She has experience working at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs of Bangladesh, where she participated in the law-making process and conducted research on various legal issues including the administration of justice during COVID-19.
Ishrat holds a Master of Environmental Law from the University of Melbourne, where her study focused on national and international environmental issues including climate change, biodiversity degradation, and environmental rights. In 2018 she has been awarded an Australia Awards Scholarship funded by the Australian Government to study in Australia. She also holds a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) and a Master of Laws from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Her research articles have been published in peer-reviewed international journals including the Journal of Water Law (UK), Environmental Policy and Law (Netherlands), and Environmental and Planning Law Journal (Australia).
Thesis Title
Exploring the Rights and Liabilities of Rivers under the River Rights Model of Bangladesh: Challenges and Way Forward
Thesis Summary
In 2019, in a landmark judgment, the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh declared the rivers of Bangladesh as legal persons and appointed a legal guardian to protect the rivers. This thesis situates the Bangladesh case in the global river rights scholarship and examines through doctrinal and empirical approaches the challenges arising from the river rights model of Bangladesh in respect of the rights and liabilities of the rivers. Using both methodological approaches, this thesis also explores which features need to be incorporated into the river rights model of Bangladesh to protect its rivers and how this might be achieved.
Supervisors
- Environmental Law
- Climate Change law
- Family Law
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Public Law