Mehdi Hakimi is a lawyer, researcher, and Editor-in-Chief of the Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal.  Prior to joining Oxford, Mehdi was the John Peters Humphrey Fellow at Harvard Law School. Before Harvard, he served at Stanford Law School as Lecturer in Law and the Executive Director of the Rule of Law Program.  In this capacity, he developed and led Stanford’s international rule of law projects in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa.  As Lecturer in Law, he also taught classes on comparative and international law, state-building, and law and development at Stanford.  Mehdi has managed global development initiatives sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

​He was the former Chair of the Law Department at the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF).  In addition to teaching various courses, he founded and directed AUAF’s Business Law Clinic Program as well as the university’s Moot Court Program.  Mehdi has worked with several institutions on international development and human rights issues including The Asia Foundation and Yale Law School.   

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Mehdi has acted as counsel, consultant, and expert witness on comparative and foreign law issues in various jurisdictions including major country guidance cases in Europe and North America.  His work has been cited and quoted in judicial decisions and litigation briefs in national and international proceedings. He has also been referenced in European Union publications, parliamentary testimonies, and Congressionally-mandated reports examining U.S. policies and actions in Afghanistan.  Mehdi has advised international organizations, governments, academic and research institutions, and global law firms on, inter alia, Afghanistan and foreign legal systems.
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His scholarship has appeared or is forthcoming in leading academic journals including the California Law Review, Harvard Human Rights Journal, Yale Journal of International Law, Stanford Journal of International Law, Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, Michigan Journal of International Law, Virginia Journal of International Law, Georgetown Journal of International Law, Northwestern Journal of Human Rights, MENA Business Law Review, Judicature, and The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, among others.  He has authored or co-authored multiple books on the laws of Afghanistan.  His work has been translated into Farsi/Dari.  In addition to serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal, he was Articles Editor for the Harvard International Law Journal.  

 

He has been interviewed by or featured in national and international media including Reuters, National Public Radio, Al Jazeera, Voice of America, Bloomberg, New York Daily News, Beijing News, The Pioneer, The Altamont Enterprise, The Diplomat, Tolo News, and other outlets.  A licensed attorney, he has worked with leading Canadian and U.S. law firms on litigation, regulatory, and international law matters.  Born in Afghanistan, Mehdi speaks Persian/Farsi/Dari, English, Arabic, and French.
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Mehdi is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where he also served as a Humphrey Scholar.  He holds a J.D., an LL.M., an M.B.A., and a B.A. (Economics and Law).

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