Mohammad Shahabuddin, the above named editor, is a Professor of International Law and Human Rights at the University of Birmingham and, remarkably, all twenty-nine contributors of the book are originally from Bangladesh – being both established legal academics and early researchers in their particular field of law; thus, the book is unique in that it presents a clear picture of a Global-South State approach to international law.

Part I of the book discusses Bangladesh's engagement in international law. Part II focuses on the two main sources of international law from Bangladesh's perspective: international treaty law and customary international law. Part III examines the statehood of Bangladesh in the context of international law, which includes self-determination, citizenship and statelessness, natural resources, international watercourse law, and marine resources and the blue economy. Part IV addresses international environmental law, climate change and human mobility, and sustainable development in relation to Bangladesh. Part V analyses international economic law with respect to intellectual property rights, the WTO, and some international investment agreements with Bangladesh. Part VI investigates international criminal law from a Bangladeshi perspective. It focuses specifically on the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973, the establishment of an International Crimes Tribunal, and the legality of crimes against humanity trials in Bangladesh. The final section, Part VII, deals with various domestic Bangladeshi concerns, including human rights.

Overall, the book suggests that, by virtue of being a State party of international conventions and treaties, and under customary international law, Bangladesh is practicing in and contributing to the development of international law, but in many cases further domestic legal development is needed. For example, Bangladesh relied on the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to settle maritime boundary disputes with Myanmar, which was the first case regarding maritime boundary delimitation before ITLOS (p. 52); Bangladesh's anti-dumping duty case against India in the WTO Dispute Settlement Board (DSB) made it the first Least Developed Country to file a complaint before the DSB (p. 57); and the Gambia v. Myanmar case before the International Court of Justice provided Bangladesh with an opportunity to contribute to justice for Rohingya refugees (p. 224). In contrast, Chapter 22 suggests that while “the approach of Bangladesh towards refugees has not been uniform or consistent … the adoption of specific refugee legislation will help Bangladesh direct its efforts in a more coherent manner” (p. 273); Chapter 23 argues that “Bangladesh is clearly not doing enough to promote minority rights” (p. 285); Chapter 24 submits that “the country's indigenous peoples are often excluded from the national self-image” (p. 289), and thus Bangladesh should “recognise the special status of indigenous peoples and ethnic groups in the constitution” (p. 296–7); and Chapter 27 claims that “freedom of expression is recognised” in international human rights instruments and in the constitution of Bangladesh (p. 322); however, it adds that “unfortunately, Bangladesh has taken an increasingly regressive approach towards freedom of expression in recent years… The responsibility of ensuring freedom of speech and expression belongs to all three organs of the state—judiciary, legislature, and executive” (p. 329).

In 2021, Bangladesh is celebrating its 50th anniversary of independence, having been under British colonial rule for 200 years, and then being part of Pakistan for 24 years. Since 1971, Bangladesh has become involved in a wide range of international law issues, including international trade disputes, the establishment of an international criminal court to try crimes against humanity, maritime border dispute settlements, and Rohingya refugee issues. Moreover, Bangladesh is a leading country globally in exporting ready-made garments, and thus is involved in international labour rights issues. Further, as a coastal State, climate change is also a crucial topic of concern for Bangladesh in international forums. In this context, Bangladesh and International Law is an excellent reference source to study Third World approaches to international law, and is truly the “first-ever comprehensive analysis of international law from Global South perspectives with specific reference to Bangladesh” (Shahabuddin). If anyone wants to understand international law from a Bangladeshi perspective, this book would definitely be the first choice. I wish this great piece of research every success.