On the origins of crimes against humanity Philippe Sands and Professor Stephen Toope

Join us for a special in conversation between human rights QC and author Phillippe Sands and the Vice Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Professor Stephen Toope. This event is facilitated by Jessica Simor QC.

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Phillippe and Stephen cover a fascinating range of topics in their discussion, including Cambridge's place as a cradle for ideas of international human rights, and Phillippe's books East West Street and The Ratline.

They begin by talking about their academic careers- and time spent studying in Cambridge. The conversation covers topics such as the Iraq War - and international law, the Holocaust and concepts of human rights. This leads to law's place at the Nuremburg Trials – and Professor Lauterpacht - the Cambridge academic who gave to the world the term Crimes against Humanity.

The conversation also shares an enlightening insight into how law and literature interact- with discussions around the writing of John Le Carre and Leonard Cohen- and how the two subjects have much to teach each other.

Philippe Sands, is a British and French lawyer at Matrix Chambers, and Professor of Laws and Director of the Centre on International Courts and Tribunals at University College London A specialist in international law, he appears as counsel and advocate before many international courts and tribunals, including the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the European Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights and the International Criminal Court.

He is the author of seventeen books on international law, including Lawless World (2005) and Torture Team (2008). His book East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity (2016) has been awarded numerous prizes, including the 2016 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. His latest book is The Ratline: Love, Lies and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive (2020) about Otto Wächter. Since 5 February 2018 Sands has served as President of English PEN.