Dr Hamid R Younesi

Profile

Biography

Dr Hamid R Younesi
LLB, LLM, LLM (Dundee), PhD (York), PGCAP (York), FHEA (Advance HE)

Lecturer in Law | Programme Leader for the Postgraduate LLM Law Programme | Member and Chair of the Standing Academic Misconduct Panel (StAMP)

Dr Hamid Younesi is an international lawyer with special interests in energy law, international investment law, investor–State arbitration, international commercial arbitration, and emerging issues in climate change law. He joined the University of York as a Lecturer in Law, where he also serves as Programme Leader for the Postgraduate LLM Law Programme and as both a member and Chair of the Standing Academic Misconduct Panel.

He holds an LLB with First Class Honours and two LLM degrees in Private Law and International Business Law, all awarded with distinction (Summa Cum Laude). He also earned an LLM in International Oil and Gas Law & Policy (Distinction) from the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP), University of Dundee, and completed his PhD at York Law School.

Dr Younesi’s doctoral and postdoctoral research explored aspects of international investment law and arbitration, with a particular focus on damages and dispute resolution in complex cross-border energy projects. He was a visiting scholar at the Peace Palace Library in The Hague and has taught courses in international dispute settlement and commercial arbitration.

Alongside his academic work, Dr Younesi has acted as counsel in high-profile cases before the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Iran–US Claims Tribunal, and the International Court of Justice. He has also served as Chief Legal Counsel and Director of the Legal and Contract Department for leading energy companies. He is a Fellow of Advance HE (the Higher Education Academy) and actively engages in research and professional networks relating to international arbitration and energy law.

Research

Overview

• International investment law
• International arbitration (including investment and commercial arbitration)
• International business law
• Energy law
• Artificial Intelligence
• International law

Dr Younesi welcomes expressions of interest for prospective PhD students in his areas of interest. 

Publications

Selected publications

For a full list of outputs, please visit my University of York Pure research page.

Book

• International Energy Investment Law: Balancing Host State and Foreign Investor Interests (Routledge, 2024).

Peer Reviewed Journals

• Younesi, H. ‘Beyond Relational Contracts: Implied Good Faith as the Pillar of Contractual Equilibrium in English Contract Law', European Business Law Review, (Wolters Kluwer), (Forthcoming, 2026). 

• Younesi, H. ‘The Adequacy of Remedies in International Investment Law: Should the Legal Framework Be Revisited For A Proper Remedy?’, The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), 88 (1) Arbitration: The International Journal of Arbitration, Mediation and Dispute Management, (2022) 101, (Wolters Kluwer).

• Younesi, H. ‘Renegotiation of International Energy Investment Transactions: The Necessity of Contractual Flexibility’, Oil, Gas and Energy Law Journal, (2022).

• Younesi, H. ‘Obsolescing Bargain and Economic Equilibrium in International Energy Investment Contracts’, 33 (6) European Business Law Review, (2022), 915-934, (Wolters Kluwer).

• Younesi, H. ‘The Implementation of Relational Contract Theory in International Investment Contracts’, 27(4) Journal of International Trade Law & Regulation (2021), 256-279, (Sweet & Maxwell).

• Younesi, H. ‘Indirect Expropriation in the Petroleum Industry: The Response of International Arbitrations’, 5 (4) Petroleum Business Review (2021) 10.

• Younesi, H. ‘The Pursuit of Stability in International Petroleum Contracts: The Role of Stabilisation Clauses in Minimisation of Disputes’, 5 International Business Law Journal (2021), 659-683, (Sweet & Maxwell).

• Younesi, H. ‘The Taking Over of the Foreign Investor’s Property by the Host State in International Petroleum Agreements: How International Arbitration Practice Is Responding’, 5 (2) Petroleum Business Review, (2021) 75-86.

Teaching

Undergraduate

• Legal Skills
• Law, Commerce & Finance 
• Introduction to Law & Society 
• Legal Concepts 
• Dissertation Supervisor 

Postgraduate

• International Commercial Arbitration (Module Leader)
• International Investment Law (Module Leader)
• Dissertation Supervisor 

External activities

Memberships

• Society of Legal Scholars (SLS), UK
• The Association of International Energy Negotiators, (AIEN), USA 
• YAAP, the Austrian Arbitration Association
• Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), UK
• Young International Arbitration Group (YIAG) of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA)
• Energy Institute (EI), London, UK
• Y&I, International Centre for Dispute Resolution, USA
• Young ICCA, The International Council for Commercial Arbitration, The Netherlands
• Socio-Legal Studies Association
• CEPANI40, the Belgian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation, (CEPANI)
• Young Arbitrators Group, The International Chamber of Commerce, (ICC), France
• German Institution of Arbitration, (DIS)
• British Institute of Energy Economics, UK
• Swiss Arbitration Association, (ASA)

Reviewer

• Transnational Dispute Management Journal
• Oil, Gas and Energy Law Journal
• Culmination of Law Journal
• Journal of Social Sciences (Springer Nature)