Philippe SANDS

Philippe Sands is an international lawyer with an exceptional profile in many respects. He has an international reputation in academia, the bar and civil society.

Philippe Sands was born in London in 1960 and is of English and French nationality. He was educated at Cambridge University (first class honours, 1983), where he defended his PhD thesis. He was Professor at New York University School of Law (1994-2003) and Professor of International Law at the University of London (1999-2002). He is currently a professor at University College London (since 2002). He is also co-director of the Project of International Courts and Tribunals (since 1997).

Philippe Sands has also been a practising barrister since 1984. A member of the Bar of England and Wales, he became Queen's Counsel in 2003, and is a founder of the international law firm Matrix Chambers. His practice is international in scope. He has appeared before almost every international forum, including the WTO, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the International Criminal Court, and others in commercial, maritime, environmental, border and international criminal law disputes. He is known for having acted as counsel for victims of crimes against humanity and genocide. He also has experience in international arbitration, particularly in the field of environmental protection and natural resources.

His bibliography shows a great evolution in his research, ranging from publications in the field of environmental law to numerous works on the proliferation of international criminal courts and tribunals. He has written or edited reference works on public international law. He is also the author of less academic books, based on his legal knowledge, but with an activist focus on causes such as the protection of fundamental rights, aimed more at the general public and published by publishing houses, such as Penguin.

Published in 2016, his latest book “East West Street. On the Origins of 'Genocide' and 'Crimes Against Humanity'” was awarded the Baillie Gifford Prize in 2016 and named 'Best Book of the Year' (Non-Fiction category) at the British Books Awards 2017. Drawing on his legal and historical knowledge, and combining a universal history perspective, from Hersch Lauterpacht and Raphael Lemkin, two internationalist jurists who shaped the Nuremberg Trials, and his own family history, he retraces the origins of the concepts of "crimes against humanity" and "genocide". This captivating work, described as a must-read, has been a phenomenal success.