Sameer Rashid Bhat is a DPhil candidate in Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. His doctoral research, supervised by Prof. Dapo Akande, explores the interaction of legal regimes in armed conflicts, with a particular focus on the challenges of identifying, classifying, and regulating ‘mixed armed conflicts’ — situations that exhibit characteristics of both international and non-international armed conflicts. He also examines how the interplay between international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL) plays out in practice.

Before his DPhil, Sameer completed an MSc in Global Governance and Diplomacy at the Department of International Development, University of Oxford, and a Master of Public Policy (MPP) at the Blavatnik School. He holds an undergraduate law degree from Gujarat National Law University, India, and is qualified to practice law in India.

At Oxford, Sameer has been involved in various academic and other engagements. He was a Graduate Research Resident at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights and held multiple roles within the Oxford Transitional Justice Research Network (OTJR), serving as Student Chairperson, Blog Lead, and Chief Editor. He served as the Co-chairperson of Oxford Pro Bono Publico (OPBP), providing comparative & international law research support to organisations and individuals around the world working pro bono on reports, expert opinions, amicus curiae briefs, policy submissions, and more. Sameer also worked for the Oxford Programme on International Peace and Security at Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict (ELAC), where he authored a report on increasing accountability for crimes against children in armed conflicts.

He has taught courses on international law and human rights including at Hertford College, Oxford, the London School of Economics, and NALSAR University of Law, India. Currently, he works as a Research Consultant at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.

Sameer’s work extends to exploring the interaction of law and culture in courts. He was involved with the Euro-Expert Project at Oxford’s Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Paris Nanterre University, and Sorbonne University. As a Research Assistant on the project, he worked on the use of cultural expertise in decision-making in and out of courts in Europe. He later served as a Consultant, leading the project’s research on India. He now co-leads the Technology Working Group for the Cultural Expertise Junior Network (K-Peritia) Action, funded by European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) and the European Union.

Sameer actively engages in advocacy related to human rights, in addition to advising and consulting with grassroots organisations committed to social justice, particularly in human rights law.

Sameer’s work and research interests span public international law, international humanitarian law, constitutional law, human rights, counterinsurgency policies and Kashmir studies.

Beyond his academic pursuits, Sameer takes keen interest in improving access to education and professional opportunities for individuals from marginalised communities. To this end, he founded Project EduAccess, a non-profit initiative with operations in South Asia.

Sameer is a Rhodes Scholar and a Clarendon Scholar.