Jay Ramasubramanyam
Assistant Professor
Law & Society (LASO)
Office: 776 Ross Building South
Email: jayram@yorku.ca
Media Requests Welcome
Accepting New Graduate Students
Jay Ramasubramanyam is an Assistant Professor (Teaching) in the Law & Society Program at York University, Toronto. Professor Ramasubramanyam obtained his B.A. in Criminology from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand (2009). He received a Postgraduate Diploma and LL.M. in International Human Rights from Birmingham City University, United Kingdom (2011) and his Ph.D. from the Department of Law and Legal Studies and the Institute of Political Economy, at Carleton University (2021).
He is a global south migration researcher. His research expertise includes forced migration, international refugee law, statelessness, third world approaches to international law, human rights, race and racialization, postcolonial theory, and South Asian studies. His research explores the asymmetries of power, knowledge production and the ostensible legitimacy of norms in the field of refugee studies and refugee law.
His article on refugee law in the Indian subcontinent was published in the Asian Yearbook of International Law. In addition to this, he has written two book chapters in The Oxford Handbook of International Refugee Law. He formerly taught in Carleton University in the areas of social justice and human rights, refugee rights, international law, and race and racialization. In recognition of his teaching excellence, he won the Contract Instructor Teaching Award in 2021.
He was formerly a visiting scholar in the American Bar Association in Washington D.C., and a visiting researcher at the Andrew and Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law in Sydney, Australia.
Prior to his academic career, he was employed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as a Refugee Status Determination Associate and in the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as a Protection Field Officer.
Degrees
Doctor of Philosophy (Legal Studies and Political Economy), Carleton University, Ottawa, CanadaMaster of Law (International Human Rights) , Birmingham City University, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Postgraduate Diploma, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Bachelor of Arts (Criminology), Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
Research Interests
Ulrike Krause and Jay Ramasubramanyam, ‘Need for a critical reimagination: Colonial legacy of the 1951 Refugee Convention’, in Jane Freedman (ed.), Research Handbook on Asylum and Refugee Policy (Edward Elgar, 2023). (Forthcoming)
Jay Ramasubramanyam, ‘Regional Refugee Regimes: South Asia’, in Cathryn Costello, Michelle Foster, and Jane McAdam (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of International Refugee Law (Oxford University Press, 2021).
James Milner and Jay Ramasubramanyam, ‘The Role of UNHCR’, in Cathryn Costello, Michelle Foster, and Jane McAdam (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of International Refugee Law (Oxford University Press, 2021).
Jay Ramasubramanyam, ‘Human Traces: TWAIL, Archives, and Refugee Law’, (2023) Journal of Refugee Studies. (In Progress)
Jay Ramasubramanyam, ‘Subcontinental Defiance to the Global Refugee Regime: Global leadership or regional exceptionalism?’ (2020) 24 Asian Yearbook of International Law 60-79.
Jay Ramasubramanyam, ‘Does Execution by Shooting or Firing Squad Constitute “Cruel and Unusual Punishment”?’ (2011) 24 Amicus Journal 15.
Abdelkarim, Shaimaa; Bagchi, Kanad; Ghadery, Farnush; Sen, Rohini; Ramasubramanyam, Jay. 2022. A Self-Reflexive Rebellion: Of Universality and False Empowerment of the Global South; Opinio Juris
Jay Ramasubramanyam, Some Refugees are Welcome, Others Not So Much: Revisiting the ‘Myth of Difference’, Völkerrechtsblog, 28.04.2022, doi: 10.17176/20220428-182034-0.
Ramasubramanyam, Jay. 2021. India is chipping away at its past generosity towards refugees, Refugee Law Initiative Blog on Refugee Law and Forced Migration
Ramasubramanyam, Jay. 2020. India’s treatment of Muslims and migrants puts lives at risk during COVID-19, Op-ed – The Conversation.
Ramasubramanyam, Jay. 2020. Will global corporations take responsibility for those they have long exploited?, Opinion Post – openDemocracy
Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/SOSC2351 6.0 | A | Human Rights in a Social-Legal Context | LECT |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/SOSC4350 6.0 | B | Law and Society Honours Seminar | SEMR |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/SOSC3391 6.0 | A | Social Diversity and the Law | SEMR |
Upcoming Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/SOSC2351 6.0 | A | Human Rights in a Social-Legal Context | LECT |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/SOSC4350 6.0 | B | Law and Society Honours Seminar | SEMR |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/SOSC3391 6.0 | A | Social Diversity and the Law | SEMR |
| Winter 2025 | GS/SOCI6893 3.0 | M | Colonialism, Race & the Law: Sociologic | SEMR |
Jay Ramasubramanyam is an Assistant Professor (Teaching) in the Law & Society Program at York University, Toronto. Professor Ramasubramanyam obtained his B.A. in Criminology from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand (2009). He received a Postgraduate Diploma and LL.M. in International Human Rights from Birmingham City University, United Kingdom (2011) and his Ph.D. from the Department of Law and Legal Studies and the Institute of Political Economy, at Carleton University (2021).
He is a global south migration researcher. His research expertise includes forced migration, international refugee law, statelessness, third world approaches to international law, human rights, race and racialization, postcolonial theory, and South Asian studies. His research explores the asymmetries of power, knowledge production and the ostensible legitimacy of norms in the field of refugee studies and refugee law.
His article on refugee law in the Indian subcontinent was published in the Asian Yearbook of International Law. In addition to this, he has written two book chapters in The Oxford Handbook of International Refugee Law. He formerly taught in Carleton University in the areas of social justice and human rights, refugee rights, international law, and race and racialization. In recognition of his teaching excellence, he won the Contract Instructor Teaching Award in 2021.
He was formerly a visiting scholar in the American Bar Association in Washington D.C., and a visiting researcher at the Andrew and Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law in Sydney, Australia.
Prior to his academic career, he was employed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as a Refugee Status Determination Associate and in the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as a Protection Field Officer.
Degrees
Doctor of Philosophy (Legal Studies and Political Economy), Carleton University, Ottawa, CanadaMaster of Law (International Human Rights) , Birmingham City University, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Postgraduate Diploma, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Bachelor of Arts (Criminology), Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
Research Interests
All Publications
Ulrike Krause and Jay Ramasubramanyam, ‘Need for a critical reimagination: Colonial legacy of the 1951 Refugee Convention’, in Jane Freedman (ed.), Research Handbook on Asylum and Refugee Policy (Edward Elgar, 2023). (Forthcoming)
Jay Ramasubramanyam, ‘Regional Refugee Regimes: South Asia’, in Cathryn Costello, Michelle Foster, and Jane McAdam (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of International Refugee Law (Oxford University Press, 2021).
James Milner and Jay Ramasubramanyam, ‘The Role of UNHCR’, in Cathryn Costello, Michelle Foster, and Jane McAdam (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of International Refugee Law (Oxford University Press, 2021).
Jay Ramasubramanyam, ‘Human Traces: TWAIL, Archives, and Refugee Law’, (2023) Journal of Refugee Studies. (In Progress)
Jay Ramasubramanyam, ‘Subcontinental Defiance to the Global Refugee Regime: Global leadership or regional exceptionalism?’ (2020) 24 Asian Yearbook of International Law 60-79.
Jay Ramasubramanyam, ‘Does Execution by Shooting or Firing Squad Constitute “Cruel and Unusual Punishment”?’ (2011) 24 Amicus Journal 15.
Abdelkarim, Shaimaa; Bagchi, Kanad; Ghadery, Farnush; Sen, Rohini; Ramasubramanyam, Jay. 2022. A Self-Reflexive Rebellion: Of Universality and False Empowerment of the Global South; Opinio Juris
Jay Ramasubramanyam, Some Refugees are Welcome, Others Not So Much: Revisiting the ‘Myth of Difference’, Völkerrechtsblog, 28.04.2022, doi: 10.17176/20220428-182034-0.
Ramasubramanyam, Jay. 2021. India is chipping away at its past generosity towards refugees, Refugee Law Initiative Blog on Refugee Law and Forced Migration
Ramasubramanyam, Jay. 2020. India’s treatment of Muslims and migrants puts lives at risk during COVID-19, Op-ed – The Conversation.
Ramasubramanyam, Jay. 2020. Will global corporations take responsibility for those they have long exploited?, Opinion Post – openDemocracy
Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/SOSC2351 6.0 | A | Human Rights in a Social-Legal Context | LECT |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/SOSC4350 6.0 | B | Law and Society Honours Seminar | SEMR |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/SOSC3391 6.0 | A | Social Diversity and the Law | SEMR |
Upcoming Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/SOSC2351 6.0 | A | Human Rights in a Social-Legal Context | LECT |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/SOSC4350 6.0 | B | Law and Society Honours Seminar | SEMR |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/SOSC3391 6.0 | A | Social Diversity and the Law | SEMR |
| Winter 2025 | GS/SOCI6893 3.0 | M | Colonialism, Race & the Law: Sociologic | SEMR |
