Mahbub ul Haq Research Centre at LUMS

Dr. Sikander Ahmed Shah is a founding member of the Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law (SAHSOL) at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). Following a B.A. in Economics and a Juris Doctorate (Cum Laude) from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, he obtained an interdisciplinary Doctorate of Philosophy from Indiana University Bloomington. Currently, Dr. Shah serves as the Director of the Centre for Chinese Legal Studies (CCLS) at SAHSOL, supervising international conferences, academic projects, and novel research initiatives. Having held visiting faculty positions at the Temple Law School, the Wayne State Law School, and the University of Michigan Law School — as well as an adjunct faculty position at the Maurer School of Law, Indiana University Bloomington — Dr. Shah brings a wealth of international experience in imparting legal education to bear in line with contemporary teaching methodologies. He has regularly advised governmental and non-governmental organizations on matters of international law at various fora including colleges, judicial academies, and the Foreign Service Academy, Pakistan.
 

Over the course of his academic career, Dr. Shah has authored a formidable body of published works. His articles and opinions have appeared in leading international law journals including the American Journal of International Law and the Washington University Global Studies Law Review. Dr. Shah has authored a book, titled International Law and Drone Strikes in Pakistan: The Legal and Socio-political Aspects (Routledge Research in the Law of Armed Conflict), a seminal piece on the intersection of preexisting international humanitarian law and emerging combat technologies. His teaching and research interests are principally focused on Public International Law, Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Political Theory, Human Rights Law, International Humanitarian Law, Corporate Governance, Lawfare and the Law of Terrorism, Refugee Law, Constitutional Rights and Freedoms, and Business and Legal Ethics.
 

On the litigatory front, Dr. Shah has served as the legal advisor to the Foreign Minister of Pakistan from 2012 – 13, providing valuable strategic guidance and advice to the sitting minister and the Ministry on a broad array of strategic and sensitive international legal issues. He regularly advises bodies engaged in public policy formulation in Pakistan, providing insights into how the country’s international legal obligations inform domestic law and policy. Dr. Shah’s multidisciplinary projects also reflect his eclectic academic interests; in addition to being actively engaged in training the Research Cell of the Lahore High Court, Dr. Shah has also successfully collaborated on projects focused on human rights clinics and the promotion and protection of Child Rights in Pakistan. For this purpose, he has trained Paralegals (Lawyers’ Clerks / Munshis and Community Workers) on Standard Operating Procedures to provide sensitive and effective service delivery to sexual abuse survivors. Dr. Shah is presently engaged in an exhaustive project aimed at reforming Pakistan’s Criminal Justice Sector System.