Bimal N. Patel is Judge International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in June 2026 for the term 2026-2035, and takes office on 1 October 2026. He is an International Law Jurist, academician, administrator, and international relations scholar. He is Chairman of the Working Group on “Succession of States in respect of State Responsibility” and has been a member of the International Law Commission (ILC) of the United Nations since 1 January 2023,
He is the Vice-Chancellor and Professor of International Law of Rashtriya Raksha University. Patel has been serving as a Member of the National Security Advisory Board, an advisory board to the National Security Council headed by the Prime Minister of India since 2015. He is a member of the Financial Sector Regulatory Appointments Search Committee (FSRASC), Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by the Cabinet Secretary. Patel served as the Director of the Gujarat National Law University from 2008 to 2019. He served as the Lead Academic Adviser to India during India's tenure as a member of the UN Security Council 2021-22. He serves as a member of High-Level Advisory Board of the ICRC concerning Global Initiative on International Humanitarian Law. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the ICRC International Review of the Red Cross, Geneva. Patel is co-chair of the American Society of International Law Interest Group on Law of the Sea and a Member of Antarctica Environment Protection and Governance Committee, Government of India. He has obtained multilateral legal and international relations experience at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) , which was awarded 2013 Nobel Peace Prize, for its extensive work to eliminate chemical weapons and the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia, preparing the international humanitarian and international criminal law jurisprudence, the Hague, the Netherlands. Patel served at the United Nations Of Youth (UNOY), an international youth NGO, in its founding years in early 1990s, supporting the mission of Nikolai Firioubine, Maria Kooijman and Ute Roehl, founding members. UNOY was awarded recently in 2026, Luxembourg Peace Prize as the Outstanding Peace Organisation, recognized for advancing youth participation in conflict transformation and global policy reform.
Patel is the author or editor of more than thirty books and reference works on international dispute settlement, the law of the sea, the responsibility of international organisations and Indian state practice, published by Brill/Nijhoff, Kluwer Law International, Oxford University Press, Routledge and Eastern Book Company. He contributed a chapter on the history of international law in India in The Oxford Handbook of the History of International Law, edited by Bardo Fassbender and Anne Peters, the book won 2014 Certificate of Merit of the American Society of International Law.
Early life and education Patel was born on 29 June 1970 in Khadol, Gujarat, India. He completed undergraduate studies in agricultural science at Gujarat Agricultural University before moving to the Netherlands for graduate study. He obtained a Master of Arts in international relations from the University of Amsterdam and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in international Law from Leiden University, where he subsequently completed a PhD in international law. He was awarded a second doctorate in international law and governance by Jaipur National University, supervised by Professor V. S. Mani. He also undertook postgraduate studies in international law and international relations at institutions in The Hague, Oslo and Heidelberg, including a postgraduate diploma in international relations and development at the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, and a summer-school certificate in international relations, foreign policy and government at the University of Oslo.
Career Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (1995-2008) From 1995 to 2008 Patel served legal, human resources and international cooperation divisions at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague.
Gujarat National Law University (2008-2019)
Patel served as the Director of Gujarat National Law University for two consecutive terms from 2008 to 2019. His core responsibilities included establishment of world class national law university in Gujarat, academic and research affairs, financial management, administration and statutory compliance, and resource mobilisation. During his tenure GNLU established a campus of approximately 50 acres provided by the Government of Gujarat, with reported assistance of between US$35 million and US$40 million, and the university began receiving development grants from the University Grants Commission. Patel introduced what he described as a “research-based teaching university” and “research-based administrative university” model; initiated LL.M., PhD, diploma, certificate and online programmes; and developed executive training programmes for institutions of legislation, governance and the judiciary, the defence forces, corporate bodies and non-governmental organisations. He established endowed chairs and fellowships in fields including law of the sea, intellectual property rights, mergers and acquisitions, labour law, real estate, energy law, environment and sustainable development, and international contracts, and contributed to a corpus and savings fund reported at approximately US$4 million. Under his directorship GNLU hosted an external programme of the Hague Academy of International Law and a global maritime conference attended by judges of the International Court of Justice and ITLOS and by diplomats from various countries. The eighth edition of the GNLU International Moot Court Competition was held in 2016 in collaboration with the Competition Commission of India.
Rashtriya Raksha University (2019-present)
Professor Patel has been serving as the Director-General and later on as the Vice-Chancellor of the Rashtriya Raksha University (www.rru.ac.in), an Institute of National Importance under the Ministry of Home Affairs since 2020. At RRU he brings his unique experience from the National Security Advisory Board and previous multilateral and national experience to promote vision of global security education for peace, security and humanity. He provides leadership in all aspects of academic, research, training and outreach programmes across various schools covering internal security and police administration; law, social science and humanities; coastal, maritime, air and space security; artificial intelligence and cyber security; foreign affairs, languages and political economy; criminology and behavioural science; and military affairs, strategies and logistics. His responsibilities include teaching and the supervision of LL.M. and doctoral candidates; executive management of university resources and administration, guiding the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Deans, Directors of Schools and the Registrar; the development of international academic partnerships, executive training and research programmes; affiliation and accreditation of defense forces, para-military organisations, central police organisations and state police organisations, and the establishment of endowed chairs and fellowships in collaboration with international and national corporate entities, government departments, public sector undertakings, law firms and public trusts.
International Law Commission Election
Patel was elected to the International Law Commission for a five-year term beginning 2023-2027, and He received 163 votes out of 192 members present and voting the highest tally in the Asia-Pacific Group Patel became the eighth Indian national to serve on the Commission, a body of thirty-four experts of recognised competence in international law responsible for the progressive development and codification of international law.
Work of the Commission Patel is Chairman of the Working Group on Succession of States in respect of State Responsibility. He is also a member of the Working Group on the Long-Term Programme of Work and the Working Group on Methods of Work, and has served on the Drafting Committee for the following topics: Immunity of State Officials from Foreign Criminal Jurisdiction Settlement of Disputes to which International Organizations are Parties General Principles of Law Subsidiary Means for the Determination of Rules of International Law Non-Legally binding International Agreements He is a member of the Study Group on Sea-Level Rise in relation to International Law.
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ITLOS Judge Election Patel has been elected as a Judge of the ITLOS for the 2026-2035 term. The Ministry of External Affairs described the result as a significant milestone and thanked member states for their support; the Minister of External Affairs, S. Jaishankar, also congratulated him. He takes office on 1 October 2026, which adjudicates disputes concerning the interpretation and application of UNCLOS.
Other public and advisory roles National security and foreign policy Member, National Security Advisory Board, National Security Council Secretariat, Prime Minister’s Office (since 2016) Lead Academic Adviser, India’s membership of the United Nations Security Council (2021-22) Member, Committee on Antarctic Governance and Environment Protection, Government of India Member, Board of Governors, National Maritime Foundation Member, Selection Panel for Overseas Chairs, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Ministry of External Affairs
Law reform and dispute resolution Member, 21st Law Commission of India (2015-2018) Member, Global Advisory Board, Centre of Excellence in Alternative Dispute Resolution, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Corporate Affairs Life Individual Member, Indian Council of Arbitration
Financial and corporate governance Member, Financial Sector Regulatory Appointments Search Committee, Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, Government of India Member of search panels concerning appointments at the Reserve Bank of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India Public Interest Director, NSE Data & Analytics, Indices, ESG Ltd. Public Interest Director, CareEdge Rating Limited Member, Board of Governors, Charotar University of Science and Technology
International humanitarian law and professional bodies Member, High-Level Advisory Board, ICRC Global IHL Initiatives - Humanities in War Member, Group of Experts, San Remo Manual on International Armed Conflicts at Sea Co-Chair, American Society of International Law Interest Group on Law of the Sea (archived copy) Member, Editorial Board, International Review of the Red Cross, ICRC
Legislative drafting and law-making Patel has been engaged by the United Nations, the Government of India and the Government of Gujarat as an adviser to ministries and departments, and has been deputed to research, draft and present international, national and state-level legislation. Instruments on which he has worked include: Antarctic Act of India; Maritime Anti-Piracy Act of 2022; Merchant Shipping Code; Deep Seabed Mining Bill of India; Private Maritime Security Companies Rules; Inland Vessels Act The Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Act 2017 Corporate Social Responsibility Policy for Public Sector Undertakings; Acts establishing universities such as Law Commission of Gujarat Statute, Gujarat Sports University, Children University, Indian Institute of Teachers’ Education, Gujarat State Litigation Policy; Gujarat Ombudsman (Lokayukta) Bill; Zero Landfill Regulations for 15 Wastes; Temple Trust Bill; Gujarat State Law Commission
Law Commission of India- preparation of reports and consultations experience: