Dr Jawad Hassan Zadeh is an Expert Witness with experience of working in Afghanistan’s and Pakistan’s affairs. As of February 2022, he has prepared 1,128 expert reports for over 200 law firms and non-legal organisations based in France, Greece, Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States of America. The Expert provides three services concerning cases from Afghanistan (1) country of origin expert opinions on human rights, culture, ethnic groups, religions, laws, government and non-state actors (2) conducts forensic examination of all types of documents originating from Afghanistan (3) interviews the ‘disputed nationality’ claimants from Afghanistan with a view of producing linguistic and nationality of the disputed clients.
The expert provides country expert reports for Pakistan, conducts nationality assessment interviews for Pakistani nationals whose nationality and origin are disputed and verifies the authenticity of Pakistani documents.
Ph.D. (Law) at Birkbeck University of London (2014-2021)
Certificate in Human Rights Law from the City University of London (2020)
Certificate in Introduction to English Law and Research Method from City University of London (2019)
Questioned Handwriting & Document Examination tutored by Reed Hayes in the US (2018)
LL.M (International Law/Relations), University of Kent (2013)
B.A. (Russian language studies) obtained from Leeds Metropolitan University (2010)
BSc Honours (Computing) obtained from Leeds Metropolitan University / Bradford College (2008)
The Expert is an Afghan-British national with over 16 years of experience in preparing expert reports on all issues relating to Afghanistan. He has 3 years of experience in preparing expert reports on Pakistan. The Expert draws his expertise by 28 years of professional work in Afghanistan and United Kingdom, 16 years of practical work as an Expert Witness in the UK and 10 years of research experience on Afghanistan during his LLM and PhD studies.
SPECIFIC 'AREAS' OF STUDY/EXPERTISE
-Internally displaced people
-Armed factions and criminal groups
-Assessment of insecurity
-Afghanistan’s laws (statutory laws, constitutional law, informal justice and Shari’a law)
-Availability of medical services and provision of mental health, PTSD
-Blood feuds
-Children and their living conditions and security issues
-Court decisions and criminal court statistics and sentencing for various crimes
-Domestic violence and familial and cultural issues
-Education (primary, secondary and higher education)
-Ethnic groups
-Gender issues, divorce, alimony, child custody issues
-Governance and its implications on the lives of citizens’ and their security
-Homosexuality, LGBT, Bacha Bazi, Trans-gender (assessing the risks)
-Human Rights conditions
-Irregularities in the police, prosecution and court investigations
-Moral crimes (adultery, eloping, dating and risks arising from moral issues)
-Pashtunwali and its application to urban life, communal identity and risks
-Political parties
-Political, social and cultural groups
-Prison conditions
-Religions (Ahmedis, Baha’is, Hinduism, Sunni, Shia, Sikhism, Christianity, Converts)
-Risk on return / Internal Relocation
-Risks from non-state armed groups
-The mentally ill, and disabled
-Unaccompanied minor refugees and risks to children
The Expert also provides the following services:
-Examination of all types of documents from Afghanistan and Pakistan through forensic tests, graphology and handwriting assessments. Forgery detection and authentication expert reports.
-Nationality assessment for ‘disputed nationality’ claims from Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Expert has 28 years of continuous work experience in Afghanistan’s affairs. He has good experience of analysing the media news available in various languages. His linguistic capability together with his professional experiences and qualifications enables him to provide high quality and independent expert opinions that will enable informed decisions. The Expert is able to consider numerous media sources which broadcast news, and analysis in Dari, Farsi and Pashto languages as well as the English language.
The Expert has 3 years of experience in preparing expert reports for the Pakistani nationals concerning Pashtuns, marriage, divorce, human rights, women issues and the verification of documents issued in Pakistan.
The Expert’s legal training and practical work experience in the UK enables him to consider the country guidance cases and use court statistics from Afghanistan.
The Expert;
- Has appeared and given evidence before HM tribunal courts
- Has provided expert evidence on issues relating to Afghanistan
- Has provided expert reports for the authentication of Afghan documents and nationality assessments
- Volunteers for the British Red Cross Society and Kent Police
- Has worked as a Home Office-approved interpreter for 20 years
- Has worked for the British Red Cross Society in the United Kingdom from 2004-2008
- Has worked for MERLIN, a UK-based charity operating in Afghanistan from 1997-1999
- Has worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Afghanistan from 1994-1996
- Has research teams in the UK and Afghanistan
- Has 10 years of Afghanistan academic research experience
- Has experience of participant observation since 1994
Presentation:
19.09.2019 Jointly presented an update of Afghan community safety issues in the UK, culture and demographics in a Police CPD session, at Kent Police HQ in Maidstone
21.06.2018 Vulnerability Conference, Kent Police HQ in Maidstone
10.05.2016 'Legal seminar' for the Dutch lawyers “Afghanistan's human rights
Conditions” VluchtelingenWerk Nederland at Amersfoort, Holland
PUBLICATIONS
From 2011 to 2021, The Expert has completed several academic writings on Afghanistan as follows:
3 Master’s Degree (LLM) essays on Afghanistan
1 Master’s Degree (LL.M) dissertation on Afghanistan
1 PhD thesis on Afghanistan
Academic research on Afghanistan (Ph.D. law research)
- Afghanistan’s Legal Development and Legal Institutions
- An Introduction to Islamic Law
- Corruption in Afghanistan and Its Impact on the Rule of Law
- Judicial Quality in Afghanistan
- Legal Pluralism in Afghanistan
- Legal Transplants in Afghanistan
- Procedural and Substantive Justice Based on Pashtunwali Tribal Code
- Religious and Cultural Influences in Afghanistan
- The Constitutions of Afghanistan 1923-2020
- The Status of Women of Afghanistan in Society and in the Legal System
Academic research on Afghanistan (Master’s Degree taught)
- Afghanistan: Interventions and Democracy
- State terrorist and extraordinary rendition
- The legality of the U.S invasion of Afghanistan 2001-2013 [Dissertation]
- The Status and Application of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in International Law
- Transitional Justice for Afghanistan
- Universal arguments in light of Islamic countries, reservations to CEDAW convention
From 2011 to 2021, The Expert has completed several academic writings on Afghanistan as follows:
3 Master’s Degree (LLM) essays on Afghanistan
1 Master’s Degree (LL.M) dissertation on Afghanistan
1 PhD thesis on Afghanistan
Academic research on Afghanistan (Ph.D. law research)
- Afghanistan’s Legal Development and Legal Institutions
- An Introduction to Islamic Law
- Corruption in Afghanistan and Its Impact on the Rule of Law
- Judicial Quality in Afghanistan
- Legal Pluralism in Afghanistan
- Legal Transplants in Afghanistan
- Procedural and Substantive Justice Based on Pashtunwali Tribal Code
- Religious and Cultural Influences in Afghanistan
- The Constitutions of Afghanistan 1923-2020
- The Status of Women of Afghanistan in Society and in the Legal System
Academic research on Afghanistan (Master’s Degree taught)
- Afghanistan: Interventions and Democracy
- State terrorist and extraordinary rendition
- The legality of the U.S invasion of Afghanistan 2001-2013 [Dissertation]
- The Status and Application of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in International Law
- Transitional Justice for Afghanistan
- Universal arguments in light of Islamic countries, reservations to CEDAW convention