Doughty Street Chambers

Harj Narulla is a barrister specialising in climate law and litigation.

Harj is an experienced climate lawyer who acts in a broad range of domestic and international climate litigation. Across his career, Harj has been involved in world-first climate litigation before national, regional and international courts. Harj has particular expertise in climate law and litigation in the fields of human rights, public international law, constitutional law, public law, corporate and commercial law, rights of nature, and Indigenous and First Nations law.

Harj is notable at the Bar for specialising in climate change, and brings a wealth of experience from his previous work on strategic climate litigation in the Global South. Across various roles, Harj has been involved in climate litigation in more than 15 countries, across Europe, Africa, Latin America, South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia and the Pacific.

As a former international climate negotiator for a Pacific nation and policy advisor to the Australian Prime Minister’s Department, Harj brings a strong interdisciplinary perspective to his advisory and contentious work. He provides advice on climate law and governance to governments, NGOs and international organisations such as the UNFCCC.

Harj’s climate practice is also shaped by his roles with leading research institutions. He is an Honorary Research Associate in climate law and litigation at the University of Oxford’s Sustainable Law Programme, where he undertakes practice-oriented work and collaborates with NGOs, government and international institutions. Harj is also a Visiting Senior Fellow in climate law and litigation at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics, and teaches an annual seminar on indigenous rights and environmental law at the University of Cambridge. Harj sits on the editorial board of the Climate Litigation in the Global South Project, and is a contributing author to the Adjudicating Climate Change book series.

Through his research affiliations Harj collaborates with world-leading experts in climate science, economics and law, which informs his advisory and contentious practice. Harj is known for providing highly innovative advice and developing novel climate litigation strategies that reflect up to date science and global trends in the field.

Harj works closely with NGOs, civil society organisations and partner organisations, and is a member of the Bar Council Climate Crisis Working Group, the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Legal Working Group, and sits as a Board Member of the International Institute for Environment and Development. Harj is also a member of the International Expert Group for the British Institute of International and Comparative Law's (BIICL) project on Corporate Climate Litigation, and sits as a climate law expert on Law for Change’s Legal Panel.

Earlier in his career, Harj worked as a refugee lawyer on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, and on Lesvos in Greece. He also worked in Indigenous and First Nations law in the Torres Strait Islands in Australia, and trained in environmental law at the Environmental Defenders Office.

Harj can be instructed directly in suitable cases under the Bar's Direct Access Scheme.

Bar Council Climate Crisis Working Group

British Institute of International and Comparative Law

UK Environmental Law Association

Human Rights Lawyers Association

Law and Society Association

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights

Liberty

Bachelor of Civil Law, University of Oxford

Master of Public Policy, University of Oxford

Bachelor of Laws (Hons), University of New South Wales

Bachelor of Arts (International Relations), University of New South Wales