Pursuant to its 10th anniversary, the Founding Vice-Chancellor of the Jindal Global Law School (JGLS), Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, has announced the appointment of four pioneer professors of law.
He announced that the most "inspiring teachers and prolific researchers", Professor (Dr.) Upendra Baxi, Professor (Dr.) Mahendra Pal Singh, Professor (Dr.) B.S. Chimni and Professor B.B. Pande, will be joining the institution as "Research Professors of Law" from the spring semester next year, i.e., February 2020.
Professor (Dr.) Upendra Baxi will take charge as the Research Professors of Law, Distinguished Scholar in Public Law & Jurisprudence. In 2011, Prof. Baxi was awarded with the Padma Shri for his excellence and contributions in the field of law.
He began his career in teaching law at the Department of International Law and Jurisprudence at Sydney Law School and served as Professor of Law at University of Delhi between 1973 and 1996. During this tenure, he also served as the Vice Chancellor of Delhi University between 1990 and 1994. After this, he joined the University of Warwick as the Professor of Law in Development and served there until 2008. His leading publications include books titled "The Indian Supreme Court and Politics"; "Mambrino's Helmet?: Human Rights for a Changing World", "Liberty and Corruption: The Antualy Case and Beyond", etc.
Presently, he is a Professor Emeritus of at University of Warwick and University of Delhi. Talking about the growth of JGLS ever since its establishment in 2009, Prof. Baxi said "...many centres of high quality research have been established, many laurels won by colleagues and the class, and a different glass ceiling has been broken by JGU being recognized as an 'institution of eminence' and achieved many a breakthroughs in the world education ranking systems."
Professor (Dr.) Mahendra Pal Singh has been appointed as the Director of Centre for Comparative Law, Chairman of the Law School Doctoral Committee and Research Professor of Law for Public Law & Comparative Law.
He has worked as the Dean, Faculty of Law at the Delhi University; Vice Chancellor of the National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata and Chairperson of the Delhi Judicial Academy former, in that order.
Presently, he serves as the Chair Professor at the Centre for Comparative Law in National Law University, Delhi. Remembering his journey in the field of legal education, he said "The essence and processes of law and legal systems around the globe are immensely interesting and challenging requiring lifetime commitment even to grasp a tiny element of it. Having engaged in this exercise in different institutions in the East and the West let it have its final destination at O.P. Jindal Global University and Jindal Global Law School, founded and led by one of our most illustrious former student Professor Dr. Raj Kumar. "
Professor B.B. Pande will hold the position of Research Professor of Law and a distinguished scholar in Criminal Law & Criminal Justice.
He is a former Professor-in-Charge of the Faculty of Law at Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi. He has also served as the Human Rights Chair Professor at the National Human Rights Commission. In the past three decades he has developed special interest and expertise in Clinical Legal Education, which involves teaching diverse law courses through clinical methods. He has initiated pilot projects such as Beggars' Court and Voluntary Prison Services by law students. He has been awarded several fellowships by institutions of international repute and has held several distinguished memberships including President, Indian Society of Criminology; Chairman, Committee for Drafting Model Rules for the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) rules, 2007; Member, National Advisory Committee on Prison Reforms, Ministry of Home Affairs, etc.
Opining upon dynamism of law, he praised VC Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar's for his "vision to expose the young and inquisitive students of Jindal Global Law School to the generational understanding and changing perceptive of the 'power' of the law". He also expressed his hope to find "new insights to the understanding of the theory and action relating to the rule of the law in the coming new India."
Professor (Dr.) B.S. Chimni will join the institution as the Distinguished Professor of International Law and a Member of the Law School Doctoral Committee.
He served as the Vice Chancellor of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata between 2004 and 2006 and has been a member of the Academic Advisory Committee of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He is a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Harvard Law School and is on the editorial board of several national and international journals like Indian Journal of International Law; International Refugee Studies; Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, etc.
Presently, he is an associate member of "Institut de Droit International" and a Member of the Academic Council of the Institute for Global Law and Policy, Harvard Law School. He sits on the editorial board of several international journals including the American Journal of International Law. His major publications include, International Law and World Order: A Critique of Contemporary Approaches, Cambridge University Press; "The Geopolitics of Refugee Studies: A View from the South", Journal of Refugee Studies, Vol.11, etc.