Kelvin Vries

Kelvin Vries is a DPhil Candidate at St Peters College, University of Oxford. His thesis examines the practice and prevention of abusive constitutional amendments in sub-Saharan Africa, under the supervision of Professor Catherine O’Regan. He holds a LLB from the University of Namibia and LLM (with distinction) from the University of Pretoria.
His primary research interest is comparative constitutional law. Most recently, he was a Fellow at the International Institute of Democracy and Electoral Assistance in the Constitution-building Programme in The Hague. He has  also completed an advanced course on ‘constitution-building in Africa’ at the Central European University. Furthermore, he has contributed two chapters to the Namibian Supreme Court book project which was published to celebrate the Court’s 30th anniversary. As a 2025 graduate resident at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights at Oxford, Kelvin also has a broad interest in human rights. He has undertaken internships at the Human Rights Institute at the International Bar Association in London, the Law Reform and Development Commission of Namibia and the Southern African Litigation Centre. Moreover, he has published in the Global Campus of Human Rights Journal and is a regular commentator on the trajectory of human rights in Namibia.

During his time at Oxford, Kelvin has been the Director of Development of the Oxford Law Black Alumni and the Minorities Rep and Social Secretary at St Peter’s College. In 2023, he was awarded the St Peter’s Society Prize for his significant contribution to college life.