Professor Bharat Desai is one of the world’s leading experts in international law, including international environmental law, and is a thought leader in the field. “His innovative scientific ideas about global environmental policy have influenced the intellectual debate and political decision-making,” says Professor Stefan Talmon, who nominated his colleague for the research prize.
In light of the global environmental crisis and concerns for the Planetary Future, the legal scholar is exploring ways to establish a fair and equitable global environmental order. Professor Desai invoked the concept of “trusteeship,” which sees the present generation both as a trustee of the planet for future generations and as beneficiary of the assets inherited from previous ones. Professor Desai’s idea of reviving and repurposing the United Nations Trusteeship Council (UNTC) (EPL 52 (3-4) 2022, 223-235; The Repurposed UN Trusteeship Council for the Future) applies this idea within the global context and has been well received amongst researchers and the global decision-makers. Professor Desai first floated the idea during a special talk that he gave on January 15, 1999 at the Legal Department of the World Bank in Washington, D.C., during his stay as a Humboldt Fellow at the University of Bonn’s Institute of International Law. It has now been reflected in the 2021 report of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres: Our Common Agenda (page 77).
Bharat Desai is currently spending a year as a visiting professor at the Institute for International Law at the University of Bonn, during which he will further develop his latest research ideas, including on the Planetary Future, and publish them in book form. He will also exchange views with Professor Stefan Talmon on international law in general and international environmental law, and on some of the global issues of our common concern such as climate change, plastic pollution, the use of weapons of war, resolution of global conflicts and the challenges presented by new technologies and AI.
Professor Desai sees his Humboldt Research Award as a unique opportunity. “The Humboldt Award is a recognition of the contribution made by researchers to the global knowledge pool for the greater wellbeing of humankind and Planet Earth. It is a humbling experience since it epitomizes the ancient Sanskrit adage of ‘scholars are worshipped everywhere’ (विद्वान सर्वत्र पूज्यते). I am grateful to the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for conferring this honor on me and to my esteemed colleague Professor Stefan Talmon for nominating me for it,” Professor Desai says.
About the Humboldt Research Award winner
Bharat Desai initially obtained his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Law from Gujarat University as well as a Master’s of Philosophy and PhD in International Law from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). During his academic career at JNU, he published academic works in over a dozen books by global publishing houses and more than a hundred articles in journals of international repute as well as supervising 120 researchers working in the field of international law. Professor Desai has taught and conducted research into international law at JNU since 1987. He was the Chairperson of the Centre for International Legal Studies and, since 2004, has been holding a professorship and the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Chair. He serves as the editor-in-chief of the journal: Environmental Policy and Law (Environmental Policy and Law: Sage Journals). He has also been a visiting researcher at many other internationally recognized universities and research institutions as well as being consulted by the governments of India and Bhutan and a number of international organizations.