Professor Saiful Karim
Faculty of Business & Law,
School of Law
Biography
Dr Saiful Karim is a Professor in the School of Law at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Australia. Dr Karim was the McDougall Visiting Professor in International Law at West Virginia University, where he taught a course on international climate change law and delivered the Annual McDougall Lecture. He also taught a postgraduate course on Asia–Pacific environmental law as a visiting faculty member at Sydney University. Dr Karim was a consultant at the University of the South Pacific where he taught courses on marine law and comparative environmental law. He was a visiting research fellow at the National University of Singapore and he practised at a Singapore law firm. Dr Karim was a lawyer in the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association.Dr Karim teaches and researches in various areas of human rights, ocean and environmental law. He has published extensively in the fields of ocean and environmental law and has presented research papers at several conferences and workshops in Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania. Dr Karim is the author of Prevention of Pollution of the Marine Environment from Vessels: The Potential and Limits of the International Maritime Organisation (Springer, 2015), Maritime Terrorism and the Role of Judicial Institutions in the International Legal Order (Brill-Nijhoff, 2017) and Shipbreaking in Developing Countries: A Requiem for Environmental Justice from the Perspective of Bangladesh (Routledge, 2018).
The Australian Government nominated Dr Karim in several important global expert bodies. He is a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC). He is also a lead author of the first Global Assessment and the first Asia Pacific Regional Assessment of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Dr Karim was an advisor to the Australian government delegation in various meetings of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC). Dr Karim received the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law 2018 Scholarship Award for his outstanding contribution to interdisciplinary research of environmental law. He was also awarded the QUT Vice-Chancellor’s Performance Fund Award for Significant Achievement in Research. Dr Karim has travelled to North and South America, Oceania, Europe, Asia and Africa for research, academic and professional activities. Dr Karim's main research interests include:
- International and comparative environmental law
- Marine environmental law
- Law of the sea
- Regulation of robotics and artificial intelligence
- Climate change law
- Regional environmental governance in the Asia-Pacific
- Asian legal studies
- South Pacific law
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Personal details
Positions
- Professor
Faculty of Business & Law,
School of Law
Keywords
Ocean Governance, Maritime security, International and comparative environmental law, Climate change law, Regional legal integration and environmental governance in the Asia-Pacific, Environmental law of Bangladesh, Law and Technology, Role of courts in the international legal system, South Pacific law, Law of the sea
Research field
Law
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- PhD (Macquarie University)
- LLM by Research (National University of Singapore)
- LLM (University of Chittagong)
- Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice (Queensland University of Technology)
- LLB (Honours) (University of Chittagong)
Teaching
Current Teaching
- Human Rights Law
- Independent Research Project
- Introduction to Law
Courses Taught
- Asia Pacific Environmental Law
- Mining and Energy Law
- International Environmental Law
- Administrative Law
- Public International Law
- Introduction to International Law
- Law in Context
- Sustainable Planning Law
- Property Law
- Local Government and Planning Law
- Comparative Environmental Law
- Law of International Organisations
- Law of the Sea
- Marine Law (covering Maritime and Admiralty Law)
- Business Law
- Corporations Law
- Business Litigation and Disputes
Guest Lecturer in:
- Climate Change and Energy Law,
- Sustainable Corporate Governance
- ASEAN Environmental Law and Policy
Publications
- Karim, M., (2022). Maritime cybersecurity and the IMO legal instruments: Sluggish response to an escalating threat? Marine Policy, 143. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/233463
- Karim, M., (2020). Australia's engagement in the International Maritime Organisation for Indo-Pacific Maritime Security. Ocean and Coastal Management, 185, 1–5. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/136407/
- Klein, N., Guilfoyle, D., Karim, M. & McLaughlin, R. (2020). Maritime autonomous vehicles: New frontiers in the law of the sea. International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 69(3), 719–734. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/202740
- Karim, S., (2018). Shipbreaking in developing countries: A requiem for environmental justice from the perspective of Bangladesh (IMLI Studies in International Maritime Law). Routledge. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/215478
- Karim, S., (2017). Maritime terrorism and the role of judicial institutions in the international legal order [Publications on Ocean Development, Volume 82]. Brill. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/101423
- Karim, S., (2015). Prevention of pollution of the marine environment from vessels: The potential and limits of the international maritime organisation. Springer International Publishing. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/78663
- Karim, S., (2014). Litigating law of the sea disputes using the UNCLOS dispute settlement system. In N. Klein (Ed.), Litigating international law disputes: Weighing the options (pp. 260–283). Cambridge University Press. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/59192
- Karim, S., (2014). Prosecution of maritime pirates: the national court is dead - long live the national court? Wisconsin International Law Journal, 32(1), 37–94. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/78661
- Karim, S., (2010). Environmental pollution from shipbreaking industry : international law and national legal response. Georgetown International Environmental Law Review, 22(2), 185–240. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/60304
- Karim, S., (2010). Implementation of the MARPOL Convention in developing countries. Nordic Journal of International Law, 79(2), 303–337. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/60303
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Saiful, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Selected research projects
- Title
- Improving International Law Regulation of Maritime Autonomous Vessels
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- DP200102091
- Start year
- 2020
- Keywords
- Title
- Improving livelihoods and economic progress through rehabilitation of degraded catchments in Fiji and Vanuatu
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- ADP/2014/012
- Start year
- 2014
- Keywords
- Title
- Promoting sustainable agriculture and agroforestry to replace unproductive land-use in Fiji and Vanuatu
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- ADP/2014/013
- Start year
- 2014
- Keywords
- Agricultural Policy And Law; Coconut Plantations; Food Security; Sugarcane; Sustainable Agroforestry In Fiji And Vanuatu
Projects listed above are funded by Australian Competitive Grants. Projects funded from other sources are not listed due to confidentiality agreements.
Supervision
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Current supervisions
- WHEN GEOPOLITICS AND ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER MEET: Environmental Peacebuilding in the South China Sea
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor Afshin Akhtar-Khavari - Reimagining Environmental and Planning Laws using Integral Theory
MPhil, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor Afshin Akhtar-Khavari
Completed supervisions (Doctorate)
- Governance and the Rule of Law in Road Safety Institutions in Pakistan: Exploring Legal, Social and Cultural Factors Relating to Crash Involvement, Enforcement, and Legal Processes (2022)
- The Role of Law and Policy in Promoting Transparency of Information in Managing Emissions from the Passenger Transport Sector to Address Climate Change: Proposals for Law Reform in the United Arab Emirates (2022)
- Enforcing the Environment Conservation Act in Bangladesh: Role of Legal Institutions under Statutory and Constitutional Laws (2021)
- Governance of the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem through Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management (2021)
- Foreign Investment and Sustainable Development: A Critical Analysis From The Sri Lankan Legal Perspective (2019)