He worked on cases with prominent Pakistani lawyers early in his legal career, including with former Prime Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy.

Hossain's American classmates included Richard V. Allen, future national security advisor to President Ronald Reagan.

Hossain received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in international law from Oxford in 1964, with his dissertation "State Sovereignty and the United Nations Charter".

Pakistan had come under military rule after a 1958 coup, and Hossain has recounted that he and Suhrawardy often zigzagged their car through Dhaka's streets to confuse (and evade) Pakistani-intelligence vehicles.

[11] In 1969 and 1970, he was involved in the round-table conferences between the government of Pakistan and major opposition parties led by the Awami League and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

In the agreement, Pakistan pledged to release interned Bengali families in exchange for the return of PoWs held by India and Bangladesh.

[22] On dealing with neighboring India, Hossain has said "I had a great equation with Mrs Indira Gandhi and her foreign minister Swaran Singh.

[18] The next government, which assumed power after Mujib's killing, functioned as a junta for 3 years headed by a Chief Martial Law Administrator.

In 1979, President Ziaur Rahman (who was army chief during the junta) restored multiparty politics, promoted free markets and pursued pro-Western, anti-Communist policies.

At the time of President Hussain Muhammad Ershad's downfall in 1990, Hossain played a leading role in drawing up the Three-Alliance Roadmap for the restoration of parliamentary democracy after 15 years of presidential government.

In 1996, when the Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) were at loggerheads, Kamal Hossain and Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed devised a formula that culminated in the introduction of the system of caretaker governance for holding general elections.

[31] Hossain has also supported the deposed chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha who struck down a constitutional amendment allowing parliament to impeach supreme court judges.

[37][39] Hossain also met with the Chief Election Commissioner, attended the Mawlid prayer in Bangabhaban and the military reception on Armed Forces Day.

Despite the dialogue and assurances of a peaceful election atmosphere from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the campaign period was marked by persecution of civil society, media and the opposition; and human rights abuses by security forces.

Human Rights Watch noted that "widespread surveillance and a crackdown on speech, have contributed to a climate of fear extending from prominent voices in society to ordinary citizens.

"[43] The Awami League's affiliated student and youth wings mobilized its members who were armed with bamboo poles to attack the opposition.

[45] The 2018 Bangladeshi general election was held amid widespread allegations of vote rigging, ballot box stuffing and intimidation of opposition polling agents.

[49] The EU statement stated that "The European Union expects the country to move forward towards democracy, respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The relevant national authorities should now ensure a proper examination of allegations of irregularities and commit to full transparency in their resolution".

Bangladesh's impressive record of economic development and respect for democracy and human rights are mutually reinforcing, and we look forward to continue working with the ruling government and opposition towards advancing these interrelated goals".

[6] Kamal Hossain and Justice Badrul Haider Chowdhury led the Bangladeshi legal team during a lawsuit filed by Scimitar Exploration Ltd at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

[19] Kamal Hossain represented Petrobangla in a lawsuit filed by Chevron at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

At the request of Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku, Hossain visited Cameroon and The Gambia to assess the conditions of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

[8] An article in The Daily Star on the occasion of Hossain's 70th birthday states "If anything, in these past many years, he has in a way been transformed into an effective moral voice for the country.

[55] In 1981, The New York Times reported that Western diplomats compared Hossain to the former US senator and presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson, who was reputed for his intellectual demeanor.

[3][58] Hossain delivered a speech at the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs in 2012, which was titled "Building a peaceful South Asia in response to the aspirations of all our peoples".

[59] During the 2018 election campaign, Shah Ali Farhad, who works in the Awami League's Centre for Research and Information, wrote in the Bangla Tribune that Kamal Hossain was a "not so conscientious" politician.

[60] He criticized Hossain for holding the presidency of Gono Forum since its founding, arguing that the party had "no prospects of a new leadership in sight".

Goswami was in turn refuted by Moudud Ahmed, who stated "I can refer a number of politicians who succeeded with lesser contact with people than that of Dr. Kamal Hossain".

During a hearing in the Supreme Court in 2017, Hossain used an expletive against Attorney General Mahbubey Alam and was censured by chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha.