Dr Reza Beheshti, LLB (Shiraz); LLM, PhD (Leicester)

Profile

Reza currently teaches Contract Law and the Contemporary Issues in Law and Business module at Queen Mary University of London, bringing a research-led and practice-oriented approach to core and advanced areas of commercial legal education. His teaching spans undergraduate and postgraduate levels and is informed by his active research in international commercial law and arbitration.

Before joining Queen Mary, Reza served as Assistant Professor at the University of Nottingham, where he held significant academic leadership responsibilities. He led successful international study abroad programmes, fostering inclusivity and collaboration across jurisdictions, and established strategic partnerships with leading European universities to enhance global exchange opportunities. He also managed competitive student selection processes, supported students’ academic and professional development abroad, and worked closely with international partners to resolve issues proactively, significantly improving the student experience and graduate outcomes.

Reza has extensive experience in teaching and curriculum leadership in commercial and contract law. He has convened multiple LLB and LLM modules and continuously innovates curricula by integrating emerging themes such as artificial intelligence, technological developments, and contemporary commercial challenges.

His teaching portfolio includes Contract Law, Commercial Conflict of Laws, International Commercial Arbitration, and International Sale of Goods.

Dr Beheshti is the author of Bradgate’s Commercial Law (Oxford University Press, 2024), ensuring that students benefit from up-to-date, research-informed content that addresses contemporary commercial law challenges.

He is an active contributor to cutting-edge research in commercial law, with a strong record of scholarly publications, research grants, and knowledge-exchange activities. His recent monograph, Buyers’ Remedies in International Sales Law: A Comparative Study (Hart Publishing, 2024), advances comparative and international perspectives in sales law. He is currently conducting research on law and the circular economy, contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and supporting the University of Nottingham’s net-zero carbon ambitions.

Alongside his academic work, Dr Beheshti actively researches and teaches international commercial arbitration. As a result, he has been appointed as an arbitrator in several international commercial disputes and regularly advises parties on complex commercial law and arbitration-related issues. His work demonstrates strong engagement with policy and practice. He collaborates with external stakeholders such as the Department for International Trade and the Hague Conference on Private International Law, helping to bridge academia and policymaking and increase awareness among policy holders.

He was also Principal Investigator for the AHRC Impact Accelerator–funded project on Artificial Intelligence and Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms. He regularly serves as a peer reviewer for leading journals, academic publishers, and research funding bodies.

Undergraduate Teaching

• Contract Law;
• Contemporary Issues in Law and Business.

Research

Reza’s research focuses on the appropriateness of current doctrines and principles of substantive commercial law in light of the needs and commercial interests of businesses operating in domestic and international markets. His work examines whether existing legal frameworks remain fit for purpose in an evolving global commercial environment.

He is currently working on two major research projects. The first examines how commercial law—particularly commercial contract law and international dispute resolution mechanisms—can effectively respond to the challenges posed by international sanctions. This project explores whether the law is capable of striking an appropriate balance between the competing interests of the various parties involved, including businesses, states, and third parties affected by sanctions regimes.

The second project is a collaborative book project with Dr Sean Thomas and Dr Monica Vessio, focusing on law, sustainability, and the circular economy. In this edited volume, the authors investigate the extent to which English commercial law can accommodate and support the principles of the circular economy. The project critically assesses whether doctrinal reform is required to align commercial law with sustainability objectives.

Publications

•  ‘Critical analysis of the seller’s right to provide repair in the context of the circular  economy’ (forthcoming 2026) Journal of Business Law.
• ‘Buyers’ Remedies in International Sales Law: A Comparative Study’, Hart Publishing (February 2024).
• Beheshti, Saintier and Thomas, Bradgate’s Commercial Law, OUP (May 2024).
• ‘The Circular Economy and the Implied Terms of Contract in English Sales Law’ (2021) 13 Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law, 31.
• ‘Private Enforcement of EU Competition Rules: analysis of Tibor-Trans Fuvarozó és Kereskedelmi Kft. v DAF TRUCKS N.V C-451/18 (2021) 1 Revue de Droit Commercial Belge.
• ‘Foreign Investment in Iran: Legal Protections and Risk’ (2020) The MENA Business Law Review, 78.
• ‘The Absence of Choice-of-Law in Commercial Contracts: Problems and Solutions’ (2019) Uniform Law Review, 24 (3), 497.
• ‘Adequate Assurance in English Contract Law’ (2018) Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly 276.
• Price Reduction versus Damages: a Battle without a Winner’ (2016) 21 Uniform Law Review 216.
• ‘A Normative Analysis of the Remoteness Test in International Sales Transactions’ (2016) 4 Journal of Business Law 289.
• ‘A Comparative and Normative Analysis of Damages under the SGA and the CESL’ (2014) 26 St Thomas Law Review 413.
• 'A Comparative Analysis of Damages along with Set-off under the SGA versus Price Reduction under the CISG and the CESL’ (2013) 5 European Journal of Commercial Contract Law 81.
• Book Review of Salim Farrar & Ghena Krayem, Accommodating Muslims under Common Law: A Comparative Analysis (Routledge 2017) (2020) Modern Law Review.
• Book Review of LA DiMatteo, Q Zhou, S Saintier, K Rowley, Commercial Contract Law, Transatlantic Perspectives (CUP 2013) (2015) 2 Journal of Business Law 185.