Aref Shams

Key information

Email: aref.shams.22@ucl.ac.uk 

Aref joined the Faculty of Laws in September 2022. His thesis analyses cooperation in international law, discussing why and how international law has become involved in allowing, facilitating, and mandating cooperation. Aref’s research is funded through a UCL Faculty Research Scholarship.

Aref holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) with First Class Honours from the University of Waikato in New Zealand. He also holds a Master in International Law from the Geneva Graduate Institute, supported by a Credit Suisse Scholarship.

Research Supervisors:

• Professor Kimberley Trapp
• Professor Alex Mills

Areas of expertise:

Public international law, theory of international law, international environmental law

Publications:

“Tempering Great Expectations: The Legitimacy Constraints and the Conflict Function of International Courts in International Climate Litigation” Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law (2023)

“Filling an Iceberg Sized Gap in the Law of the Sea: Addressing an Emerging Demand on Oceans” in Alla Pozdnakova and Froukje Maria Platjouw (eds) The Environmental Rule of Law for Oceans: Designing Legal Solutions (Cambridge University Press, 2023)