Geoffrey Robertson

From the Nuremberg trials to the arrest of General Pinochet to the prosecution of barbarians of the Balkans, we have crafted a global human rights law to punish crimes against humanity. And yet today it is rarely applied: the International Criminal Court has faltered, populist governments refuse to cooperate, the UN Security Council is poleaxed and liberal democracy is on the defensive.When faced with the torture of Sergei Magnitsky, the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and the repression of the Uighurs, what recourse do we have?Distinguished human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson argues that our most powerful weapon is Magnitsky laws, by which not only perpetrators but their accomplices lickspittle judges, doctors who assist in torture, corporations that profit from slave labour are named, shamed and blamed.Though the UK and the EU have passed nascent Magnitsky laws, they are not deploying them effectively. It is only by developing a fullblooded system of coordinated sanctions banning human rights violators from entering democratic countries to funnel their ill-gotten gains through Western banks and take advantage of our schools and hospitals that we can fight back against cruelty and corruption.Bad People sets out a Plan B for human rights, offering a new blueprint for global justice in a postpandemic world.

The biggest question in the world of art and culture concerns the return of property taken without consent. Throughout history, conquerors or colonial masters have taken artefacts from subjugated peoples, who now want them returned from museums and private collections in Europe and the USA.The controversy rages on over the Elgin Marbles, and has been given immediacy by figures such as Frances President Macron, who says he will order French museums to return hundreds of artworks acquired by force or fraud in Africa, and by British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, who has pledged that a Labour government would return the Elgin Marbles to Greece. Elsewhere, there is a debate in Belgium about whether the Africa Museum, newly opened with 120,000 items acquired mainly by armed forces in the Congo, should close.Although there is an international convention dated 1970 that deals with the restoration of artefacts stolen since that time, there is no agreement on the rules of law or ethics which should govern the fate of objects forcefully or lawlessly acquired in previous centuries.Who Owns History? delves into the crucial debate over the Elgin Marbles, but also offers a system for the return of cultural property based on human rights law principles that are being developed by the courts. It is not a legal text, but rather an examination of how the past can be experienced by everyone, as well as by the people of the country of origin.

Geoffrey Robertson led students in the 60s to demand an end to racism and censorship. He went on to become a top human rights advocate, saving the lives of many death-row inmates, freeing dissidents and taking on tyrants in a career marked by courage, determination and a fierce independence.In this witty, honest and sometimes irreverent memoir, he recalls battles on behalf of George Harrison and Julian Assange, Salman Rushdie and Vaclav Havel, Mike Tyson and the Sex Pistols, and battles against General Pinochet, Lee Kuan Yew and Mrs Thatcher (the true story of Spycatcher is told for the first time).Interspersed with these forensic fireworks is the story of a pimply schoolboy from a state comprehensive, inspired by a banned book to become a barrister at the Old Bailey and who went on to found the UKs leading human rights practice (Doughty Street Chambers) and to defend troublemakers throughout the world.Rather His Own Man captures the drama of the trial, the thrill of victory and the feeling of courtus interruptus when a big case settles. Its cast of characters includes Princess Diana, Pee-Wee Herman, Dame Edna, the Queen and Rupert the bear and the media mogul. Its a read that is both exhilarating and erudite and very funny.

«Una crítica devastadora de la insuficiente respuesta por parte de la comunidad internacional a las violaciones de las libertades fundamentales… un logro extraordinario.» Evening Standard En esta ed

Vladimir Putins war against Ukraine has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and is fundamentally an attack on democracy. Under international law, the invasion of a United Nations member state which poses no imminent threat to the invader amounts to the serious crime of aggression. But can Putin be prosecuted? And if so, will he ever be held to account?This remarkable book, by one of the worlds most celebrated human rights lawyers, shows how the Nuremberg trials of Nazi leaders validate the prosecution of Putin. Ironically, Putins defence hinges on a doctrine invented by George W. Bush to justify his invasion of Iraq, which Geoffrey Robertson exposes as contravening international law. If Putin fails to attend court, Robertson argues that he could be tried fairly in his absence, ensuring a verdict that will give pause to China and other countries which look to destroy democracy.This brilliant deep dive into international law offers a unique perspective on an unjust war, highlighting why democracy is not safe unless Putin can be put at least metaphorically behind bars.

A revised and updated edition of Geoffrey Robertson's impassioned, authoritative guide to an issue of massive global importance. He tells the dramatic story of how the human rights idea has come to dominate world politics. He reveals how human rights has penetrated the legal armour of the sovereign State. He sets out, without legal jargon, the rights of humankind in the 21st Century. And he predicts what this movement has in store - not only for tyrants and torturers, but also for the superpowers who still resist the demands for universal justice.