Short Biography              

ABDUL GHAFUR HAMID @ KHIN MAUNG SEIN is currently Professor of Law and Coordinator of International Law and Maritime Affairs (ILMA) Research Unit of the International Islamic University Malaysia. He obtained his LL.B. and LL.M. in International Law Degrees from the University of Yangon, Myanmar, and his Ph.D. in Law from the International Islamic University Malaysia. His principal research area is “international law” and he has special research interests in international law of the sea, maritime law, international commercial law, international trade law, international law of armed conflict, and international human rights and humanitarian law. With his nearly 40 years of teaching and research experience, he has authored or edited 15 books and published numerous articles in international and refereed journals. Professor Ghafur is a Life Member of the Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA), a Member of the Asian Society of International Law, and an Editorial Board Member of the Journal of East Asia and International Law. His on-going research project is entitled: “Formulation of a Legal Framework for sustaining Maritime Security in Malaysia”, a Fundamental Research Grant (FRGS) funded by the Ministry of Education, Malaysia.

 His recently completed research projects are:

 (1) A Study on the Malaysian Regulatory Framework Relating to the Law of the Sea: Issues and Prospects, Research Endowment Fund, Research Management Centre, IIUM. (2013);

(2) “Reforming Laws relating to the Protection of Marine Environment in Malaysia” (2011), granted by the Law Reform Committee of the Prime Minister’s Department of Malaysia. 

The following are a few of his publications:

(1) “Muslim States and Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: With Special Reference to Malaysia” in Marie-Luisa Frick and Andeas Th. Muller (eds.) Islam and International Law: Engaging Self-Centrism from a Plurality of Perspectives, Brill: Martinus Nijoff Publishers (June 2013), 290-308;

(2) “Main Causes of Civilian Vulnerability in a Non- International Armed Conflict: An Appraisal of the Legal Factors”, 2(4) Asian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (AJSSH), Leena and Luna International, Oyama, Japan (November 2013), 201-209;

(3) Human Rights Law: International, Malaysia and Islamic Perspectives, Sweet & Maxwell Asia (2012).

(4) “Assessing the Viability of the 2005 Protocol to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation”, 6 (11) Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences (AJBAS), (2012), 137-144.

(5) Public International Law: A Practical Approach, Thompson Reuters, Sweet & Maxwell Asia, 3rd. ed., (2011).

(6) The WTO Rules versus Multilateral Environmental Agreements: The Search for Reconciliation, Macquarie Journal of Int. & Comp. Environmental Law (MqJICEL), Vol. 5 (2008)), Macquarie University, Australia, 57-79.

(7) “The Legality of Anticipatory Self-Defence in the 21st Century World Order: A Reappraisal”, 54(3) Netherlands International Law Review (NILR), (2007) Cambridge University Press, UK, 441-490.