Human Rights Lawyer Prof. Philippe Sands

Prof. Sands chats with first-year students in the Margaret MacMillan Trinity One Program and then delivers the Margaret MacMillan Lecture in International Relations.

On November 22, human rights lawyer Prof. Philippe Sands stopped by for a fireside chat with Trinity One students. Prof. Sands was on the Trinity campus as he was delivering the Margaret MacMillan Lecture in International Relations: East West Street later that afternoon.

Prof. Sands and students had an engaging discussion about the importance of history, social justice, international law, the role of the judiciary system, crimes against humanity and genocide. They were joined by Prof. Michael Kessler, the Raymond Pryke Chair and Director, Margaret MacMillan Trinity One Program. Trinity is very grateful to Prof. Sands for his generosity with his time to spend with our inquisitive students.

At the Margaret MacMillan Lecture, Trinity’s Chancellor The Hon. William C. Graham introduced our guest speaker.

“Philippe’s accomplishments go well beyond just practicing and teaching law, as he is also an extremely successful and thoughtful writer… he has contributed greatly to the public discourse on big issues of our day, such as the Iraq war legal status, the United States use of torture, the UK Bill of Rights, maritime boundary disputes, the rule of law regarding climate change, and the arms trade. Philippe has contributed to that place that international law has in influencing the conduct of states. Philippe is uniquely qualified to help us understand these events and how we contribute to the construction of a positive global order in these complex and perplexing times,” Chancellor Graham said is his remarks.

In his multimedia lecture, Prof. Sands shared his personal stories and account of the history of genocide and the origins of crimes against humanity.

Philippe Sands QC is a Professor of Law at University College London and a practising barrister at Matrix Chambers. He appears before many international courts and tribunals, including the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, and sits as an arbitrator in cases on international law and sports law. He is the author of numerous academic books on international law, as well as Lawless World (2005) and Torture Team (2008). He contributes to the New York Review of Books, Vanity Fair, the Financial Times and The Guardian. His new book East West Street: On the Origins of Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide has just won the 2016 Baillie Gifford Prize for nonfiction. It is accompanied by a shorter work (City of Lions, Pushkin Press), a BBC Storyville film (My Nazi Legacy), and a performance piece with music (A Song of Good and Evil).

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