Ahmed Yasin Jelle joined the University of Glasgow School of Law as Lecturer in Common Law. He teaches across private law and legal method, including Tort Law, Contract Law, Land Law, Equity and Trusts, and Common Law System and Methods. He previously taught World Trade Law, Contract Law and other core subjects at the University of Bristol, and has also taught as an Adjunct Lecturer at Umma University.

Ahmed’s research is situated in international economic law, with a particular focus on trade law, sustainable development, regional integration and development-oriented economic governance. His work examines how legal rules shape market access, preference utilisation, value chains and the implementation of international trade commitments. He is especially interested in the legal and institutional conditions that enable trade agreements to move beyond formal commitments and support practical economic coordination, regulatory capacity and development outcomes.

Ahmed completed his PhD in Law at the University of Bristol, where his doctoral research examined regional value chain development under the African Continental Free Trade Area, drawing comparative insights from ASEAN. He also holds an LL.M in Law and Globalisation from the University of Bristol, where he was a Chevening Scholar.

Ahmed’s academic work is informed by substantial legal, policy and advisory experience. He has advised governments, regional institutions, development partners and private-sector stakeholders on trade agreements, domestic implementation, investment frameworks, regional integration and trade-related sustainability. Most recently, he led the legal team, working with the Overseas Development Institute, that drafted Somalia’s pioneering Rules of Origin legislation as part of a World Bank-funded project. He has also delivered specialist training on trade agreement implementation for experts and officials, including through the FCDO AfCFTA Support Programme.

Before joining academia full-time, Ahmed practised law in Kenya, including at ALN Africa / Anjarwalla & Khanna LLP and Kaplan & Stratton Advocates. His practice covered international trade, investment, commercial law, regulatory matters and dispute resolution. He is admitted as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and is a member of the Law Society of Kenya.

Ahmed’s primary area of research is International Economic Law, with particular interests in international trade law, sustainable development, regional integration, and development-oriented economic governance. His research focuses on the legal and institutional conditions that shape the implementation of trade agreements, market access, preference utilisation, value chains, and regulatory coordination. In addition to this, his research interests include Rules of Origin, trade facilitation, investment governance, trade and sustainable development, the international-domestic interface in trade law, private law dimensions of trade and production networks, and the legal architecture of regional economic integration, including under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and other megaregional trade agreements.

Research groups

• International Political Economy & Development
• Political Economy Futures Forum

List by: Type | Date

Ahmed teaches on the following courses:

Land Law (Course Convenor)
Contract Law
Tort Law 
Equity and Trusts
Common Law System and Methods

Professional & learned societies

• 2014: Member, Law Society of Kenya

Selected international presentations

• 2024: 12th Annual Society of International Economic Law PEPA/SIEL Conference (Hong Kong)
• 2025: Africa Trade Development Forum International Conference (Kigali)
• 2025: Validation Conference for the Somalia Rules of Origin Law (Mogadishu)
• 2025: Faculty of Social Sciences and Law Conference (Bristol)
• 2026: Talk the Talk, Walk the Walk?” The Enforcement of Environmental and Human Rights Obligations in the External Relations of the European Union International Expert Seminar (Glasgow)
• 2025: Sixth Scottish Conference on International Law The ICJ at 80 (Glasgow)
• 2024: Trade and Public Policy Network Annual Conference: UK Trade Policy in a Turbulent World (Oxford)
• 2026: Trade and Public Policy Network Annual Conference: Weaponised Trade: Adapting, Confronting, or Avoiding? (Oxford)
• 2025: Trade and Public Policy Network 2nd Annual Conference (Oxford)