Dr Anup Surendranath Appointed To The Advisory Council Of The Bonavero Institute Of Human Rights, University of Oxford

Dr. Anup Surendranath, Executive Director of Project 39A and Assistant Professor of Law at NLU Delhi, has been appointed to the Advisory Council of the 'Bonavero Institute of Human Rights' at the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford. He is the only member from Asia to be on this 15-member council, comprising senior judges from the UK and leading human rights lawyers from different parts of the world. The composition of the Advisory Council can be found here.

'It is wonderful to have this opportunity to give back to my alma mater along with participating in a global conversation on human rights. With human rights across the globe coming under increasing attack, the Bonavero Institute with its strategic advantages has much to offer in shaping the conversations on the future of human rights. And that I can play a small part in that effort is a matter of great satisfaction", said Dr.Anup on this accomplishment.

The 'Bonavero Institute of Human Rights', headed by Kate O'Regan (former judge of the South African Constitutional Court between 1994-2009), aims to bring together different aspects of human rights work at the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford.

Dr. Surendranath is an alumnus of the University of Oxford (2007-12), and NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad (2001-06).

Dr. Surendranath teaches Constitutional Law and Legal Methods at NLU Delhi. He was earlier the Director of the Centre on the Death Penalty and oversaw its transition to Project 39A.With a wider mandate on the criminal justice system, Project 39A undertakes research and interventions on forensics in criminal law, legal aid, death penalty, mental health and criminal law, sentencing, and torture. Also within the Project 39A fold is the Fair Trial Fellowship that provides legal aid to undertrials in Pune and Nagpur Central Prisons in collaboration with the district legal aid authorities.

Dr. Surendranath was also invited by Chief Justice RM Lodha (as he then was) in May 2014 to serve as the Deputy Registrar (Research) in the Supreme Court and was on deputation to the Supreme Court until August 2015.  He also led NLU Delhi's Death Penalty Research Project between June 2013 – May 2016 that resulted in the Death Penalty India Report. This work is of tremendous importance, given that it is the first-ever empirical work on the administration of the death penalty in India(released in May 2016) is of tremendous importance, given that it is the first-ever empirical work on the administration of the death penalty in India and has been cited by the Law Commission of India and reports by the UN Secretary General. Over 90 students were involved with the project in different phases and the project was entirely supported by the University. The findings of the project received extensive and prominent coverage in the national media and was also covered by major international publications like the New York Times and The Guardian.

To build on the work of the Death Penalty Research Project, the Centre on the Death Penalty was established at NLU Delhi in late 2014 the University and subsequently transitioned to Project 39A in May 2018.

 His doctoral research at the University of Oxford, supervised by Professor Sandra Fredman, was on equality and anti-discrimination in the context of reservation policies in India.