Professor and Barrister, Surya P. Subedi, O.B.E., Professor of International Law at the School of Law of the University of Leeds, has been appointed an Honorary Queen’s Counsel (QC) for his contribution to international law and to the advancement of human rights. A press release issued by the Government today states that Professor Subedi has made “an exceptional contribution over a sustained period at the international level to develop international law and to advance human rights.” Professor Subedi is one of five distinguished legal academics and law practitioners that have been appointed as honorary QCs by Her Majesty the Queen upon the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor after an assessment of all nominations by a high-level committee consisting of senior representatives from various organisations in the field of law and justice. The award of Honorary Queen’s Counsel is made to qualified lawyers and legal academics who have made a major contribution to the law of England & Wales outside practice in the courts.

Commenting on his appointment as an Honorary QC, Professor Subedi said: “I feel extremely honoured to have been appointed an Honorary Queen’s Counsel in recognition of my work in international law and human rights.”

Professor Subedi obtained his LLB at Tribhuvan University, an LLM with Distinction at the University of Hull and a DPhil in law at the University of Oxford where he was awarded a prize for outstanding doctoral thesis. He was called to the Bar at the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple and has been Professor of International Law at Leeds since 2004. He has published extensively in several areas of international law and human rights, with six books and nearly 60 journal articles to his credit. He is Chairman of the Board of Editors of the Asian Journal of International Law (published by Cambridge University Press).

He served for five years between 2010 and 2015 as a member of the Advisory Group on Human Rights to the British Foreign Secretary. During his tenure as UN Special Rapporteur for human rights for six years he produced four substantive reports published by the United Nations focussing on judicial, parliamentary, electoral, and land reform in Cambodia. A number of his recommendations were implemented by the Government. Collectively, these four reports provided an analytical point of reference for democracy, human rights and the rule of law in the country and became a primary source of reference for human rights defenders, UN agencies, and donor agencies that continue to be drawn on today. He was awarded an OBE in 2004 for services to international law and elected to the Institut de Droit International in 2011. He was the first Nepali to receive such a high level British state honour in 2004.

 

लन्डन । बेलायत सरकारले लिड्स विश्वविद्यालयमा अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय कानुनका प्राध्यापक डा. सूर्यप्रसाद सुवेदीलाई ‘क्वीन्स् कन्सुल‘ (क्यूसी) अर्थात् ‘महारानीको मानार्थ कानुनी सल्लाहकार’ भन्ने उपाधि प्रदान गरेको छ ।

प्रा. सुवेदी सहित न्याय र कानूनको क्षेत्रमा विशिष्ट योगदान गरेका पाँचजना वरिष्ठ कानूनविद्हरुलाई त्यस्तो उपाधि प्रदान गरिएको ब्रिटेनको न्याय मन्त्रालयले जनाएको छ । उक्त पदवी आउँदो फेब्रुअरी १३ तारिखा लण्डनमा एक समारोहका बीच प्रदान गरिनेछ ।

डा. सुवेदी मानवअधिकार, न्याय र कानुनको क्षेत्रमा एक अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय स्तरको अभियन्ता भएको उल्लेख गर्दै सुवेदीले बेलायतको परराष्ट्रमन्त्रीको मानवअधिकार कानुनको सल्लाहकारको रुपमा पांच वर्ष र क्याम्बोडियाका लागि राष्ट्रसंघीय मानवअधिकार विशेष दूतको रुपमा ६ वर्ष काम गर्दा दिएको उल्लेखनीय योगदानको प्रशंसा गरिएको छ ।

यसअघि बेलायती महारानीले प्रा. सुवेदीलाई सन् २००४ मा अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय कानुनको क्षेत्रमा उल्लेखनीय योगदान गरेवापत अफिसर अफ द अर्डर अफ द ब्रिटिश इम्पायर (ओबिइ) उपाधि प्रदान गरेकी थिइन् । बेलायतको उक्त उच्च अवार्ड पाउने सुवेदी पहिलो नेपाली हुन् ।

अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय कानुन तथा मानवअधिकार संबन्धी ६ वटा पुस्तकहरु लेख्‍नु भएका प्रा. सुवेदी ‘एसियन जर्नल अफ इन्टरन्याशनल ल’ का संपादक मण्डलका अध्यक्ष पनि हुनुहुन्छ ।