Professor Rehan Abeyratne
Associate Dean, HDR,
School of Law
Professor,
School of Law
Biography
Rehan Abeyratne is Professor and Associate Dean (HDR) at Western Sydney University School of Law, where he teaches Government and Public Law, Legal Research and Methodology, and Comparative Law: Legal Systems of the World. He also coordinates the School of Law's Honours Program. Professor Abeyratne holds a PhD from Monash University, a JD from Harvard Law School, and a BA (Hons.) in Political Science from Brown University.
Professor Abeyratne’s primary research area is comparative constitutionalism. He serves as an elected member of the International Society of Public Law (ICON-S) Council and as co-chair of the Society’s Committee on New Directions in Scholarship. He holds editorial positions at the Asian Journal of Comparative Law (Subject Editor) and at Comparative Constitutional Studies (Book Review Editor). Professor Abeyratne is the author of From Cosmopolitan to Self-Preservation: Courts and LGBTQ+ Rights in the 21st Century (forthcoming with Oxford University Press). He is a co-editor of Towering Judges: A Comparative Study of Constitutional Judges (Cambridge University Press 2021), The Law and Politics of Unconstitutional Constitutional Amendments in Asia (Routledge 2021), and the Routledge Handbook of Asian Parliaments (Routledge 2023). He has authored articles in leading journals including the International Journal of Constitutional Law (I-CON), Yale Journal of International Law, and Global Constitutionalism, as well as chapters in edited volumes published by Hart, Cambridge University Press, and Oxford University Press. Most of Prof. Abeyratne's research can be freely accessed on SSRN, Academia, and Google Scholar.
Prior to joining WSU, Professor Abeyratne spent six years at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Faculty of Law. He served as the founding Executive Director of the Centre for Comparative and Transnational Law (CCTL) at CUHK from 2020-22 and as Chair of the Comparative Constitutional Law Research Forum from 2022-23. He received the CUHK Faculty of Law’s Teaching Excellence Award in 2019 and Research Excellence Award in 2021. From 2011-16, Professor Abeyratne was an Associate Professor of Law at the Jindal Global Law School in Delhi, India. At Jindal, he also served as Assistant Dean (Research) and as Executive Director of the Centre for Public Interest Law. He received the Jindal Teaching Excellence Award in 2014, and the Research Excellence Award three times (2012-14).
Professor Abeyratne has held visiting positions at New York University (NYU) School of Law, Melbourne Law School, and the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Law.
This information has been contributed by Professor Abeyratne.
Professional Memberships
- International Society of Public Law (ICON-S) Council (2023)
- New York State Bar (2011)
- Co-Chair, ICON-S Committee on New Directions in Scholarship (2021)
Interests
- Comparative Law
- Constitutional Law
Organisational Unit (School / Division)
- School of Law
- School of Law
Contact
| Email: | R.Abeyratne@westernsydney.edu.au |
|---|---|
| Phone: | |
| Mobile: | |
| Location: |
PLEASE NOTE: obtaining information from this Directory must be for the legitimate purposes of doing business with and within Western Sydney University, and must not be used for unsolicited bulk e-mailing (spamming) or similar purposes.
Teaching
Current Teaching Areas
- LAWS3011 Comparative Law: Legal Systems of the World
- LAWS4016 Legal Research and Methodology
- LAWS7027 Legal Philosophy and Methodology
- LAWS7064 Legal Research Project 2
Previous Teaching Areas
- 200984 Government and Public Law, 2023
- 201053 Government and Public Law (Juris Doctor), 2023
Publications
Books
- Yap, P. and Abeyratne, R. (2023), 'Routledge Handbook of Asian Parliaments', : Routledge 9780367624231.
- Abeyratne, R. and Bui, N. (2022), 'The Law and Politics of Unconstitutional Constitutional Amendments in Asia', : Routledge 9780367562595.
- Abeyratne, R. and Porat, I. (2021), 'Towering Judges: a Comparative Study of Constitutional Judges', : Cambridge University Press 9781108840217.
Chapters in Books
- Abeyratne, R. (2024), 'South Asia', Cambridge Handbook of Comparative Law, Cambridge University Press 9781108843089.
- Abeyratne, R. (2024), 'Economic and social rights in South Asia', The Oxford Handbook of Economic and Social Rights, Oxford University Press 9780197550021.
- Abeyratne, R. (2023), 'Turbulent democracies', Routledge Handbook of Asian Parliaments, Routledge 9780367624231.
- Yap, P. and Abeyratne, R. (2023), 'Parliaments in Asia : introduction', Routledge Handbook of Asian Parliaments, Routledge 9780367624231.
- Abeyratne, R. (2023), 'Judicial review in Hong Kong', Routledge Handbook of Constitutional Law in Greater China, Routledge 9780367651855.
- Abeyratne, R. and Bui, N. (2022), 'Unconstitutional constitutional amendments as constitutional politics', The Law and Politics of Unconstitutional Constitutional Amendments in Asia, Routledge 9780367562595.
- Abeyratne, R. and Porat, I. (2021), 'Introduction : towering judges : a conceptual and comparative analysis', Towering Judges: a Comparative Study of Constitutional Judges, Cambridge University Press 9781108840217.
- Abeyratne, R. (2021), 'PN Bhagwati and the transformation of India's judiciary', Towering Judges: a Comparative Study of Constitutional Judges, Cambridge University Press 9781108840217.
- Abeyratne, R. (2020), 'More structure, more deference : proportionality in Hong Kong', Proportionality in Asia, Cambridge University Press 9781108495752.
- Abeyratne, R. (2018), 'Socioeconomic rights, human dignity, and constitutional legitimacy in India', Human Dignity in Context: Explorations of a Contested Concept, Hart Publishing 9781782256212.
- Abeyratne, R. (2018), 'Judicial independence and the rise of the Supreme Court in India', Asia-Pacific Judiciaries: Independence, Impartiality and Integrity, Cambridge University Press 9781107137721.
- Abeyratne, R. (2016), 'Asia as the laboratory of the superior responsibility doctrine', Trials for International Crimes in Asia, Cambridge University Press 9781107104655.
- Abeyratne, R. (2015), 'How to produce a more effective memorial or written submission?', Moot Courts and Mooting, Eastern Book Company 9789351451754.
- Abeyratne, R. (2015), 'Centralising authority : comparing executive power in India and Sri Lanka', Reforming Sri Lankan Presidentialism: Provenance, Problems and Prospects, Centre for Policy Alternatives 9789554746367.
Journal Articles
- Abeyratne, R. and Yap, P. (2022), 'Constitutional dismemberments, basic structure doctrine, and pragmatic justifications in context : a rejoinder', International Journal of Constitutional Law, vol 20, no 2 , pp 905 - 910.
- Abeyratne, R. (2021), 'Abusive constitutional borrowing : the latest legal iteration of a political crisis', Journal of Indian Law and Society, vol 12, no 2 , pp 104 - 115.
- Yap, P. and Abeyratne, R. (2021), 'Judicial self-dealing and unconstitutional constitutional amendments in South Asia', International Journal of Constitutional Law, vol 19, no 1 , pp 127 - 148.
- Abeyratne, R. (2021), 'Global constitutionalism reconfigured through a regional lens', Global Constitutionalism, vol 10, no 2 , pp 331 - 350.
- Abeyratne, R. and Abeyratne, R. (2020), 'Enforcing socioeconomic rights in neoliberal India', Minnesota Journal of International Law, vol 29, no 1 .
- Abeyratne, R. (2019), 'Uncertain sovereignty : Ceylon as a dominion, 1948-1972', International Journal of Constitutional Law, vol 17, no 4 , pp 1258 - 1282.
- Abeyratne, R. (2018), 'Ordinary wrongs as constitutional rights : the public law model of torts in South Asia', Texas International Law Journal, vol 54, no 1 , pp 1 - 38.
- Abeyratne, R. and Didon, M. (2018), 'Separation of powers and the potential for constitutional dialogue in India', Journal of International and Comparative Law, vol 5, no 2 , pp 363 - 385.
- Abeyratne, R. (2018), 'Privileging the powerful : religion and constitutional law in India', Asian Journal of Comparative Law, vol 13, no 2 , pp 307 - 331.
- Abeyratne, R. (2017), 'Upholding judicial supremacy in India : the NJAC judgment in comparative perspective', George Washington International Law Review, vol 49 , pp 569 - 613.
- Abeyratne, R. (2016), 'Al Maqaleh and the diminishing reach of Habeas Corpus', Nebraska Law Review, vol 95, no 1 , pp 145 - 193.
- Abeyratne, R. (2015), 'Rethinking judicial independence in India and Sri Lanka', Asian Journal of Comparative Law, vol 10, no 1 , pp 99 - 135.
- Abeyratne, R. and Sinha, N. (2014), 'Insular and inconsistent : India's Naz Foundation judgment in comparative perspective', Yale Journal of International Law Online, vol 39 , pp 74 - 86.
- Abeyratne, R. (2014), 'Socioeconomic rights in the Indian constitution : toward a broader conception of legitimacy', Brooklyn Journal of International Law, vol 39, no 1 .
- Abeyratne, R. and Jain, D. (2013), 'Domestic violence legislation in India : the pitfalls of a human rights approach to gender equality', American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy and the Law, vol 21, no 2 , pp 333 - 378.
- Abeyratne, R. (2012), 'Superior responsibility and the principle of legality at the ECCC', George Washington International Law Review, vol 44 , pp 39 - 78.