Dr Rishi Gulati is an international lawyer practicing in public and private international law. He has a PhD from King’s College London; Advanced LLM in Public International Law from Leiden University and a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the Australian National University. Rishi regularly appears before international and national courts, as well as arbitral tribunals in a broad range of international disputes. He frequently appears in mediations as well. Rishi has represented clients before the internal justice systems of several international organisations, including the UN, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, Africa Finance Corporation, EBRD, IMF, ICC, OPCW, etc. He has appeared in human rights cases before the UN Human Rights Committee and the Committee Against Torture. Rishi also has a broad advisory practice including on how international law obligations can be effectively implemented domestically. Rishi has previously taught at the London School of Economics, King’s College London, University of New South Wales, and Dublin City University, lecturing in international dispute resolution, public international law, private international law, international organisations law, international investment law, and international human rights law.
Selected cases and key advisory work
- Advised an international organisation on effectively implementing certain anti-terrorism UN Security Council Resolutions in an African state consistently with international law including on privacy and data protection
- Advised an international organisation on implementing effective mechanisms to secure international cooperation to combat international terrorism and other types of transnational crime in the context of cross-border sharing of electronic data
- Advised an international organisation on effectively implementing anti-terrorism UN Security Council Resolutions concerning Advanced Passenger Information regime in a Central Asian state
- Advised the Federation of International Civil Servants' Associations on the acquired rights of international civil servants
- Counsel in multiple international civil service cases settled following mediation
- Counsel in three UNCITRAL Arbitrations against an international organisation
- Counsel in a case involving a former staff member of a multilateral financial institution before the first instance appellate mechanism (settled following jurisdictional phase)
- Advised a CGIAR organisation on its immunities regime and interpretation of aspects of its headquarters agreement
- Advised an NGO on aspects of the UN’s international responsibility in the context of the Haiti Cholera Litigation
- Counsel in a case seeking redress for victims of grave violations in the context of the conflict in Sierra Leone before multiple fora located in certain African states (led by Karim Khan QC)
- Counsel in CAT, Communication No. 701/2015. Decision adopted by the Committee Against Torture at its sixtieth session (18 April – 12 May 2017) dated 22 May 2017
- Represented an individual at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
- Counsel in Mr H v Asian Development Bank, Decision No. 108, Asian Development Bank Administrative Tribunal (6 January 2017)
- Counsel in National Australia Bank Ltd v Rose [2016] VSCA 169 (21 July 2016) (led by James Peters QC)
- Counsel in National Builders Group IP Holdings v ACN 092 675 165 Pty Ltd (In Liq) & Anor [2015] VSCA 260 (17 September 2015) (led by Daniel Crennan QC)
- Counsel in a case concerning passport cancellation before the Security Division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal
- Counsel in Woodson v Secretary General of the United Nations, Case No. UNDT/NBI/2014/082 (28 January 2015)
- Counsel in Woodson v Secretary General of the United Nations, Case No. UNDT/NBI/2014/082 (22 September 2014) (led by Daniel Crennan QC)
- Advised the Australian Government on matters concerning the Rotterdam Rules - United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea 2008
- Advised the Australian Government on the scope of Australia’s non-refoulment obligations under the ICCPR and Convention Against Torture
- Advised the Australian Government on the nature of a state’s obligations under the Hague Service and Evidence Conventions
- Advised the Australian Government on aspects of the Unidroit Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects (1995 in the context of the case concerning the Dancing Shiva
- Advised the Australian Government on legal aspects concerning the Convention of 2 July 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters during its negotiation
- Advised the Australian Government on aspects of the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions 1999
Interviews
Landmark case in Melbourne to set legal precedent for returning foreign fighters (ABC RN, 17 December 2015) Debate over new border force (Sky News, 2 July 2015) Proposed changes to citizenship laws (ABC News 24, 24 June 2015) Terror law changes to be unveiled (Sky News, 23 June 2015)
Selected publications
R Gulati, International Organisations and Access to Justice (CUP, 2022) (forthcoming)
R Gulati et al, Elgar Companion on the Hague Conference on Private International Law (Edward Elgar, 2020)
R Gulati, ‘Acquired Rights in International Administrative Law’, Vol 24, Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law (2021, forthcoming)
R Gulati, ‘Judicial Independence at International Courts and Tribunals: Lessons Drawn from the Experiences of the International Court of Justice and the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organisation’ in Eric de Brabandere (ED), Comparative Procedure in Interstate Litigation (CUP, 2021) (forthcoming)
R Gulati, ‘International Arbitration in Claims against International Organisations’, Vol 3, AIIB Yearbook of International Law (BRILL, Nijhof, 2020) (with Thomas John)
R Gulati, ‘Guaranteeing the independence of the judges of the Multilateral Investment Court: A must for building the court’s credibility’, Columbia FDI Perspectives (2019) (with Nikos Lavranos)
R Gulati, ‘An International Administrative Procedural Law of Fair Trial: Reality or Rhetoric?’, 21 Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law (2018) 210-270
R Gulati, ‘International Counter-Terrorism Regulation and Citizenship Stripping Laws’, 23 Journal of Conflict & Security Law (2018) 203-228 (with Dana Burchardt)
R Gulati, ‘Resolving Dual and Multiple Nationality Disputes in a Globalized World’, 28 Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality (2014), 27-45
R Gulati, 'Sunset Clauses in Australian Anti-Terror Laws', Adelaide Law Review (2013) 307-333 (with Nicola McGarrity and George Williams)
R Gulati, ‘The Internal Dispute Resolution Mechanism of the United Nations’, 15 Max Plank Yearbook of United Nations Law (2011), 489-538
CPD Seminars
