Dr Jashim Chowdhury

Dr Jashim Chowdhury

Lecturer in Law

Faculty and Department

  • Faculty of Business, Law and Politics
  • The Law School

Qualifications

  • LLB
  • MA
  • MA
  • PhD / DPhil (King's College London)

Summary

Dr. M Jashim Ali Chowdhury joined the Hull Law School as a Lecturer in August 2022. At the University of Hull, he teaches Public and European Law , Public International Law, Comparative Law and Administrative Law and Human Rights Protection modules. He also coordinates the Hull Law School's newly initiated Law Review. His research interest includes International Human Rights Law, Public International Law, Comparative Public Law, and South Asian Constitutionalism.

Earlier, he served in Bangladesh as an Associate Professor (University of Chittagong), Assistant Professor and Senior Lecturer (Northern University Bangladesh) and Lecturer in Law (The University of Information Technology and Sciences (UITS) and Metropolitan University).

Dr. Chowdhury completed his LL.B. (Honours) and LL.M. from the University of Chittagong with First Class First position in both exams. He also holds an LL.M. in International and Comparative Law with Distinction from Tulane University, Louisiana, USA. He has recently been awarded his PhD in Law by the King’s College London, UK. Dr. Chowdhury was nominated for Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Gold Medal (2007) for outstanding results in LL.B. (Honours) and LL.M. at the University of Chittagong. Later, he was awarded the prestigious Fulbright (2014) and Commonwealth (2017) scholarships by the US and UK governments, respectively.

He has researched and written extensively on constitutional and personal law issues. His articles have been published in the Bangladesh Journal of Law, Chittagong University Journal of Law, Dhaka University Law Journal, Northern University Journal, BRAC University Journal, Metropolitan University Journal, Jagannath University Journal, Jahangirnagar University Law Journal, Rajshahi University Law Journal, Islamic University Journal (Bangladesh), Indian Journal of Constitutional Law, Comparative and Administrative Law Quarterly (India), GLAT Law Review (Tulane, USA) and the Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law (Canada). Dr. Chowdhury has contributed chapters in books published by BILIA (Bangladesh), Chittagong University (Bangladesh), Rutledge (UK), Hart (UK) Springer (Singapore) and Cambridge University Press (USA). He has authored four books - "An Introduction to the Constitutional Law of Bangladesh", "The Law of Evidence: An Easy Reader" (In Bangla), "A Textbook on Muslim Personal Law" and "Comparative Constitutional Law: Issues, Debates and Stories from the US, UK and Indian Jurisdictions". He has contributed over a hundred legal opinion pieces in Bangladesh’s leading national dailies, national and international blogs, student-edited journals, periodicals, etc.

Dr. Chowdhury participated in and presented papers at seminars and conferences in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, India, China, Hong Kong, Kuwait and Bangladesh. Before joining the University of Hull, he established and pioneered the Society for Critical Legal Studies (SCLS), a study and research circle widely known across the Bangladeshi legal academia.

Modules Dr. Chowdhury Teaches:

Introduction to Law and its Study (LL.B. 1st Year)

Public and European Law (LL.B. 1st Year)

Comparative Law (LL.B. 2nd Year)

Public International Law (LL.B. 2nd Year and LL.M.)

Administrative Law and Human Rights Protection (LL.B. 2nd

Year)

Dr Chowdhury's Teaching Philosophy Statement:

"As a teacher of future legal practitioners, judges, politicians, thinkers and reformers, my goals are to (1) increase my pupils’ general stock of legal knowledge; (2) develop their ability to analyse the background rationale of laws and to critique those; (3) ingrain capability of independent thinking; and 4) ingrain a more profound conviction to ethics of law and the legal profession in them. I strive to realise these through teaching practices that align with several inclusive learning, teaching and assessment pedagogy.

I understand the student learning processes within Dianne Lorillard's (2002) “Conversational Framework” and the six learning types identified therein. The first two of my four teaching goals fit one or either of these six learning types. First, the knowledge enhancement goal relies on acquisitional learning. My lectures, readings and podcasts (suitable to the pupils’ level of studies) are designed to develop an adequate understanding of the black letter laws and their operational settings. Second, the analytical and critical reasoning capabilities are achieved through the combination of investigative, collaborative and discursive learning types realised through smaller group works within the class, tutorials and sometimes at the pre reading stages. I usually like to arrange short debate sessions with my lectures by placing critical questions on the table.

The last two of my professional goals are related to a teaching pedagogy informed by Peter Kugel (1993)’s four-stage professional development thesis. Kugel argues that professors initially evolve from asserting command over their classes (Stage 1) through the pursuit of acquiring subject matter expertise (Stage 2) and knowledge transfer skill (Stage 3) to creating a new set of independent thinkers (Stage 4). My motivation to evolve from a “skilled and able instructor” to a “facilitator of autonomous thinking” requires me to ensure that my students actively engage in what Entwistle (2009) calls the “Teaching for Understanding”. Mine is a learning-by-doing approach process that draws from the popular worldwide movement of “clinical legal education” (Madhloom & McFaul, 2022). Clinical legal education pedagogy requires the students to learn the complexities and uncertainties encountered in legal practice (Marson et al., 2005) directly from the stakeholders - the justice seekers and administrators.

Since December 2016, I have been sponsoring a student-run critical legal studies society (Chowdhury SCLS, 2023). This practical and productive learning type is executed through court visits, short internships and community visits. Reports from there form a substantial percentage of my assessment processes. I intend to explore the possibility of expanding that type of work at the University of Hull.

How do I assess that my goals are being met and my students are achieving what I expect within the module and beyond? First of all, I make sure that my lectures and tutorials are constructively aligned (Loughlin et al., 2021) with the declared aims and objectives of the module and the critical essay. However, my assessment process is continuous rather than a one-off one. Apart from the critical essay, I frequently use the ungraded retrieval practice quizzes at the end and beginning of my lectures. I also use graded presentations and viva voce examinations for a particular share of the grade. I plan to introduce graded multiple-choice questions in one of my modules in the next trimester. I also offer direct personal-level supervision and consultation meetings for critical essay writing. It aligns with the UoH’s priorities for “Inclusive Assessment Practices” (UoH TEA, 2020) and allows me to continuously support and facilitate the student's progress and address the obstacles preventing them from reaching expected module competencies.

I take care that the learning materials and modes of teaching are inclusive and assessable to students of all ethnic and linguistic demographics. In appropriate cases, I coordinate with the University support services and the library to ensure that the differently able students access the reading materials in appropriate formats. However, the telling part of my teaching practice has been what Jivraj (2020) calls an “Anti-racist legal pedagogy”. It is prominent in my public law module, which invites my students to see the constitutions as their indigenous historical products rather than merely euro centric templates exported by the colonial superpowers. I encourage the students to pick up a designated feature of the constitutional systems of Asian, Eastern and Latin American countries and consider how those could inform the UK’s public law. In doing this, I support the UoH’s commitment to the 3D Pedagogy Framework (Gabriel, 2019) and ALDinHE Manifesto for Learning Development (2018) which emphasise the need for equitable access and diversity of perspectives in higher education."

References:

ALDinHE, Manifesto for Learning Development (2020) accessed 20 July 2023

Colin Loughlin, Simon Lygo-Baker & Åsa Lindberg-Sand, ‘Reclaiming constructive alignment’ (2021) 11(2) European Journal of Higher Education 119

D Laurillard, Rethinking University Teaching: A Conversational Framework for the Effective Use of Learning Technologies (2nd ed, Routledge 2002)

D. Gabriel, ‘Enhancing Higher Education Practice Through the 3D Pedagogy Framework to Decolonize, Democratise and Diversify the Curriculum’ (2019) 8 (2) International Journal of Technology and Inclusive Education 1459

James Marson, Adam Wilson & Mark Van Hoorebeek, ‘The Necessity of Clinical Legal Education in University Law Schools: A UK Perspective’ (2005) 7 International Journal of Clinical Legal Education 29

M Jashim Ali Chowdhury, ‘What SCLS stands for’ (2023) The Society for Critical Legal Studies accessed 20 July 2023

Mary James and A. Pollard, ‘TLRP’s Ten Principles for Effective Pedagogy: Rationale, Development, Evidence, Argument and Impact’, (2011) 26(3) Research Papers in Education 275

Noel James Entwistle, Universities into the 21st Century, Teaching for Understanding at a University: Deep Approaches and Distinctive Ways of Thinking (Red Globe Press, 2009)

Omar Madhloom and Hugh McFaul, Thinking About Clinical Legal Education: Philosophical and Theoretical Perspectives (Routledge, 2022)

Peter Kugel, ‘How Professors Develop as Teachers’, (1993) 18(3) Studies in Higher Education 315

Shuraiya Jivraj, Towards “Anti-racist legal pedagogy” a Resource (Socio Legal Studies Association, University of Kent, 2020)

UoH TEA, Assessment Procedures: Inclusive Assessment, Marking and Feedback Policy (2020) accessed 20 July

2023.

Recent outputs

View more outputs

Book Chapter

Parliament of Bangladesh: Constitutional Position and Contributions

Chowdhury, M. J. A. (2023). Parliament of Bangladesh: Constitutional Position and Contributions. In R. Hoque, & R. Chowdhury (Eds.), A History of the Constitution of Bangladesh: The Founding, Development, and Way Ahead (145-160). London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003276814-12

Fifty Years of Electioneering in Bangladesh: The Collapse of a Constitutional Design

Chowdhury, M. J. A. (2023). Fifty Years of Electioneering in Bangladesh: The Collapse of a Constitutional Design. In M. R. Islam, & M. E. Haque (Eds.), The Constitutional Law of Bangladesh: Progression and Transformation at its 50th Anniversary (173-193). Singapore: Springer (part of Springer Nature). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2579-7_10

Making and Unmaking the Constitution of Bangladesh

Chowdhury, M. J. A. (2023). Making and Unmaking the Constitution of Bangladesh. In N. Son Bui, & M. Malagodi (Eds.), Asian Comparative Constitutional Law Volume 1 Constitution-Making (363-382). Oxford: Hart Publishing. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781509949724.ch-017

Journal Article

Protecting Secularism in Bangladesh: A Critique of the Constitutional Unamendability Approach

Chowdhury, J., Mamun, M. A. A., & Jahed, M. J. I. (2023). Protecting Secularism in Bangladesh: A Critique of the Constitutional Unamendability Approach. Rajshahi University Law Journal, 11, 108-131

Religious Equality in South Asia: Does "Constitutionalized Secularism" Matter?

Chowdhury, J. A., & Islam, M. J. (2023). Religious Equality in South Asia: Does "Constitutionalized Secularism" Matter?. Chittagong University Journal of Law, 24, 41-60

Research interests

South Asian Constitutionalism, Public Law, Comparative Constitutional Law, International Human Rights Law, Public International Law

Postgraduate supervision

Dr Chowdhury welcomes PhD proposals focusing on comparative constitutionalism, judicial review, judicial activism, comparative legislative studies, South Asian constitutional laws, history and politics, public international law (especially from the perspective of the global south), internationalisation of constitutional law and constitutionalisation of international law, international human rights law, cultural pluralism and global human rights and international organisations (particularly the international judicial bodies).

Committee/Steering group role

Elected Member of the Senate, University of Hull

2023 - 2023

Elected the representative of the academic staff members of Faculty of Business, Law and Politics (FBLP) at the University of Hull in March 2023. I worked there until its reconstitution in November 2023.

Journal editorial role

Member of the Editorial Board, The Journal of Legal Sciences (University of Baghdad - College of Law)

2023

Journal of Legal Sciences, a semi-annual scientific journal issued by College of Law - University of Baghdad, concerned with the publication of research and legal studies and jurisprudence and summaries in university, as well as the conferences and seminars held by the College of law.

Journal peer reviewer

Peer Reviewer (Indian Law Review)

2023

A publication of the Routledge, Taylor Francis Group, London & New York

Membership/Fellowship of professional body

Core Member, Institute for Digital Innovation and Sustainable Transformation, University of Hull

2023

Member, ICON·S : The International Society of Public Law

2022

Scholarship role

Commonwealth Scholar

2017 - 2021

Fulbright (Foreign) Scholar

2014 - 215

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