Raj Bhala
Rice Distinguished ProfessorSubjects: International Trade Law, Advanced International Trade Law, Islamic Law (Shari'a), Public International Law
Phone: 785-864-9224 E-mail: bhala@ku.edu
Profile
Raj Bhala joined the KU Law faculty in 2003 as the Rice Distinguished Professor. He has worked in 25 countries, and played in another 21 countries.
Bhala's scholarly reputation in international trade is global, based in part on a sustained, prolific publication record. That record includes an acclaimed treatise, "Modern GATT Law," and a leading textbook, "International Trade Law," both of which are highly regarded for their substance and style.
That record also includes more than two dozen provocative articles, including four major pieces on the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations: “Resurrecting the Doha Round: Devilish Details, Grand Themes, and China Too,” 45 Texas International Law Journal issue 1 (2009); “Doha Round Schisms – Numerous, Technical, and Deep,” 6 Loyola University Chicago International Law Review Issue 1 (Fall/Winter 2008); “Empathizing with France and Pakistan on Agricultural Subsidy Issues in the Doha Round,” 40 Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 949 (October 2007); and “Poverty, Islam, and Doha,” 36 The International Lawyer 159 (2002).
Bhala's scholarship in international trade law embodies three signature themes: (1) Protectionist devices are embedded in the details of the law; (2) generosity and social justice ought to play a prominent role in the law; and (3) precedent operates as a de facto source of multilateral rules. These themes are the product of a synthesis of traditional doctrinal legal analysis with development economic and social justice theory.
Currently, Bhala is working on a new text, "Understanding Islamic Law," which is designed to be the first-of-its kind for use in law schools throughout the English-speaking world.
Bhala practiced international banking law at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which twice granted him the President's Award for Excellence. At the New York Fed, he represented the United States in international wire transfer negotiations at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), dealt with legal issues in the largest financial market in the world (foreign exchange) and was actively involved in international banking law enforcement, including the infamous scandal involving the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI).
Bhala joined KU from George Washington, where he held the Patricia Roberts Harris Research Professorship, before which he began his teaching career at William & Mary. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Duke, where he was an Angier B. Duke Scholar. The British Government awarded him a Marshall Scholarship, and he earned master's degrees from both the London School of Economics (LSE) and Oxford. He obtained his law degree with honors from Harvard.
Bhala is the editor of two book series, "Studies in Globalization and Society" (Carolina Academic Press) and "International Law and Development" (Martinus Nijoff Publishers). He is a member of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, Council on Foreign Relations, Royal Society of Asian Affairs and American Law Institute, and has consulted to governments and international organizations.
Bhala has lectured around the world, including at the University of Auckland (New Zealand), Bahcesehir University (Istanbul), College of Shari'a and Law (Muscat, Oman), King Fahd University of Petroleum and Mining (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia), University of Dhaka (Bangladesh), LaTrobe University (Melbourne), University of London, University of Malaya (Kuala Lumpur), National University of Singapore and Pakistan College of Law (Lahore). He has been a Visiting Fellow at the Bank of Japan (Tokyo) and the University of Hong Kong. Bhala has won university-wide teaching awards at both KU and William & Mary.
Bhala serves as a Foreign Legal Consultant to Heenan Blaikie LLP, Canada, a major Canadian law firm, and in that capacity works on trade-related projects for developing and least-developed countries.
Representative Publications
Books
"International Trade Law: Interdisciplinary Theory and Practice" (LexisNexis, 3rd ed. 2008, 2nd ed. 2001, 1st ed. 1996); Dictionary of International Trade Law (LexisNexis, 2008); "Modern GATT Law" (Thomson/Sweet & Maxwell 2005); "Trade, Development, and Social Justice" (Carolina Academic Press, 2003).
Articles
“Philosophical, Religious, and Legalistic Perspectives on Equal Human Dignity and U.S. Free Trade Agreements,” 28 Saint Louis University Public Law Review 9 (2008); “Virtues, the Chinese Yuan, and the American Trade Empire,” 38 Hong Kong Law Journal Part I, 183 (May 2008); “Competitive Liberalization, Competitive Imperialism, and Intellectual Property,” 28 Liverpool Law Review 77 (2007); "The Limits of American Generosity," 29 Fordham International Law Journal 299 (January 2006); "Saudi Arabia, the WTO, and American Trade Law and Policy," 38 The International Lawyer 741 (Fall 2004), "World Agricultural Trade in Purgatory," 79 North Dakota Law Review 691 (Spring 2003); "WTO Dispute Settlement and Austin's Positivism: A Primer on the Intersection," 9 International Trade Law & Regulation 14 (2003); "The Forgotten Mercy: GATT Article XXIV: 11 and Trade on the Subcontinent," 2002 New Zealand Law Review 301 (2002); "Theological Categories for Special and Differential Treatment," 50 Kansas Law Review 635 (2002); "The Power of the Past: Towards De Jure Stare Decisis in WTO Adjudication (Part Three of a Trilogy)," 33 George Washington International Law Review 873 (2001); "Marxist Origins of the 'Anti-Third World' Claim," 24 Fordham International Law Journal 132 (2002).
Case Review Series
Co-author (with Professor David Gantz, University of Arizona College of Law) of "WTO Case Review," published annually in the Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law.
Curriculum Vitae with Complete Publications List
Wheat Law Library's International Trade Law Page
Research Interests
International trade (particularly GATT, developing countries, trade remedies, and agriculture); Catholic social justice theory and its application to international trade; Islamic law (particularly classical theory and Islamic finance).
Education
J.D., cum laude, Harvard, 1989; M.Sc., Oxford (Management), 1986; M.Sc., London School of Economics (Economics), 1985; A.B., summa cum laude, Duke (Economics), 1984.
Admitted
New York, District of Columbia, Colorado, 1990.
Career History
Attorney, Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Director, Graduate Program, William & Mary 1989-1993, 1993-1998; Professor, Patricia Roberts Harris Research Professor, Associate Dean for International and Comparative Legal Studies, George Washington University School of Law, 1998-2003; Visiting Professor Duke, 1996, Michigan 1999; University of Auckland, 2003, LaTrobe University (Melbourne), 2003, World Trade Institute (Berne), 2003-2006, Rice Distinguished Professor, Kansas, 2003-present.
Member
Member: Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, Council on Foreign Relations, Royal Society for Asian Affairs, American Law Institute.
Consultant: United Arab Emirates University, U.S. Department of Commerce (Middle East Partnership Initiative), Saudi Aramco, Government of Laos, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Heenan Blaikie LL.P., Canada
Editorial Advisory Boards: LexisNexis Law School Publishing Advisory Board (1/09-present); Carolina Academic Press (12/97-12/08); International Trade Law and Regulation (Thomson/Sweet and Maxwell, spring 2003-present); Shari'a and Law Journal (United Arab Emirates University, 12/07-present); Manchester Journal of International Economic Law (12/03-present).
