Geoffrey Robertson

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.

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.

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.

Every day, we are exposed to evidence of hundreds of war crimes: residential buildings bombed and burning in Ukraine, merciless shootings in Gaza despite a so-called ceasefire, civilians beaten and starved by armies in Sudan and a mounting number of aid workers and journalists murdered by soldiers. The evidence proves guilt beyond reasonable doubt, but we know there will be few, if any, prosecutions.In this powerful book, distinguished human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson exposes the fraud that is international humanitarian law. Drawing on his experience as a UN war crimes judge, he considers some of the most pressing legal issues of our time, including torture, nuclear weapons, drone warfare and the fallacy of anticipatory self-defence. In the face of such threats, and with an impotent Security Council neutered by the worlds most powerful aggressors, modern democracies are increasingly vulnerable to conflict and invasion.Most importantly in an age of amoral warlords like Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump, the book warns that we are losing sight of Nurembergs legacy: that there can be no peace without justice. This authoritative and deeply humane work is both a rallying defence of moral law and a resounding condemnation of those who defy it.

How Russians, the Rich and the Government Try to Prevent Free Speech and How to Stop Them.ESSENTIAL Amal ClooneyAUTHORITATIVE Sir Geoffrey Bindman KCIMPORTANT Baroness Helena Kennedy KCCOULD HARDLY BE MORE TIMELY Alan RusbridgerThe British tradition of free speech is a myth. From the middle ages to the present, the law of defamation has worked to cover up misbehaviour by the rich and powerful, whose legal mercenaries intimidate investigative journalists.Now a new terror has been added through misguided judicial development of the laws of privacy, breach of confidence and data protection, to suppress the reporting of truths of public importance to tell.Drawing upon the authors unparalleled experience of defending journalists and editors in English and Commonwealth courtrooms over the past half-century, the book describes the hidden world of lawfare, in which authors struggle against unfair rules that put them always on the defensive and against a costs burden that runs to millions. Law schools do not teach freedom of speech and judges in the Supreme Court do not understand it.This book identifies and advocates the reforms that will be necessary before Britain can truly boast that it is a land of free speech, rather than a place where free speech can come very expensive.

Geoffrey Robertson QC has been at the centre of internationally high-profile legal cases for over three decades. From representing Princess Diana to Salman Rushdie, to his involvement in the celebrated criminal trials of Oz magazine and Gay News, Robertson is an unfailing champion of human rights, justice, freedom and democracy. In this captivating memoir, Robertson reveals what draws him to each case, his ingenious analysis and interpretation of the courtroom proceedings, and the legal and civic consequences wrapping each case into a thrilling, rollercoaster sequence of events.Entertaining, scandalous and hugely insightful, The Justice Game provides a piercing behind-the-scenes look into courtroom cases, the practice of the law and the never-ending fight in striving to narrow the gap between the law and justice. A highly recommended read for those interested in current affairs, criminal and public law, legal history and the British legal system.This wonderful book...reads like a John Grisham, infused with moral anger Independent

Charles I waged civil wars that cost one in ten Englishmen their lives. But in 1649 parliament was hard put to find a lawyer with the skill and daring to prosecute a King who was above the law: in the end the man they briefed was the radical barrister, John Cooke.Cooke was a plebeian, son of a poor farmer, but he had the courage to bring the Kings trial to its dramatic conclusion: the English republic. Cromwell appointed him as a reforming Chief Justice in Ireland, but in 1660 he was dragged back to the Old Bailey, tried and brutally executed.John Cooke was the bravest of barristers, who risked his own life to make tyranny a crime. He originated the right to silence, the cab rank rule of advocacy and the duty to act free-of-charge for the poor. He conducted the first trial of a Head of State for waging war on his own people - a forerunner of the prosecutions of Pinochet, Miloevic and Saddam Hussein, and a lasting inspiration to the modern world.

Geoffrey Robertson QC, acclaimed author of The Case of the Pope, presents a freshly updated version of his masterwork, Crimes Against HumanityIn this fresh edition of the book that has inspired the global justice movement, Geoffrey Robertson QC explains why we must hold political and military leaders accountable for genocide, torture and mass murder - the crimes against humanity that have disfigured the world. He shows how human rights standards can be enforced against cruel governments, armies and multi-national corporations. This seminal work now contains a critical perspective on recent events, such as the Obama administrations use of drone warfare, the Charles Taylor conviction, the trials of Mladic, Karadzic and Khalid Sheik Mohammed and the "Mullahs without Mercy" soon with nuclear arms.Millions will be reading his book in the century to come if we are serious in our intention to stop massacresObserverHis arguments are exceptionally clear and comprehensible, and legal complexities are rendered into simple and lucid proseSunday TelegraphGeoffrey Robertson QC has appeared as counsel in landmark human rights cases in British, International and Commonwealth courts. He is Head of Doughty Street Chambers and Visiting Professor in Human Rights at Birkbeck College. His other books include FREEDOM, THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE LAW and MEDIA LAW (both in Penguin) and his memoir, THE JUSTICE GAME, was published in 1998. He lives in London.