34 Facts About Philippe Sands

Philippe Sands is the author of seventeen books on international law, including Lawless World and Torture Team.

Philippe Sands served as President of English PEN from February 2018 to April 2023.

Philippe Sands was born in London on 17 October 1960 to Jewish parents; his mother was French.

Philippe Sands was educated at University College School in Hampstead, London, and read law at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, attaining a BA degree in 1982 and going on to achieve first-class honours in the LLM course a year later.

From 1984 to 1988, Philippe Sands was a Research Fellow at St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and the Cambridge University Research Centre for International Law.

Philippe Sands has held academic positions at King's College London and SOAS.

Philippe Sands was a Global Professor of Law at New York University Law School and has held visiting positions at Paris I, University of Melbourne, the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Indiana University Bloomington, University of Toronto, Boston College Law School and Lviv University.

Philippe Sands was the co-founder of the Centre for International Environmental Law and the Project on International Courts and Tribunals.

Philippe Sands was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1985.

Philippe Sands was elected a Bencher of Middle Temple in 2009.

Philippe Sands joined 11 King's Bench Walk on 1 October 2022.

Philippe Sands has acted as counsel and advocate in cases that span a wide range of subject areas, including:.

Philippe Sands has been instructed in inter-State arbitrations, including the Chagos Marine Protected Area Arbitration and the dispute between the Philippines and China over maritime jurisdiction in the South China Sea.

Philippe Sands now sits as arbitrator in investment disputes and in sports disputes.

Philippe Sands exposed a memorandum dated 31 January 2003 that described a two-hour meeting between Blair and Bush, during which Bush discussed the possibility of luring Saddam Hussein's forces to shoot down a Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, an act that would cause Iraq to be in breach of UN Security Council Resolutions.

Philippe Sands has maintained the view that there was no basis in international law for military action in Iraq.

From 2010 to 2012, Philippe Sands served as a Commissioner on the UK Government Commission on a Bill of Human Rights.

On 17 September 2015, Philippe Sands gave a public lecture at the UK Supreme Court entitled "Climate Change and the Rule of Law: Adjudicating the Future in International Law".

Philippe Sands expressed the view that a ruling by an international judicial body, such as the International Court of Justice, could help resolve the scientific dispute on climate change and be authoritative and legally dispositive.

In December 2015, Philippe Sands drafted a Legal Opinion on the legality of UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia for Amnesty International, Oxfam and Saferworld.

On 16 April 2018, Philippe Sands co-authored a piece in The Times in which it is argued that the UK had no established legal basis for the 2018 missile strikes against Syria.

In February 2024, Philippe Sands argued in favour of the State of Palestine at the International Court of Justice's case on Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Philippe Sands refuted the US and the UK claims that an advisory opinion from the ICJ would negatively impact future negotiations.

Philippe Sands is a contributor to the Financial Times and The Guardian, and an occasional contributor to the London Review of Books and Vanity Fair.

Philippe Sands frequently comments on issues of international law and is a contributor to BBC programmes, Sky News, CNN, Al Jazeera and national radio and TV stations around the world.

Philippe Sands's written work has formed the basis for four staged productions exploring the public and historical impact of international law:.

Philippe Sands wrote the script and appears in the film alongside two sons of prominent Nazi officials, Niklas Frank and Horst von Wachter.

In 2018, Philippe Sands wrote and presented the BBC Radio 4 documentary Intrigue: The Ratline, about the disappearance of senior Nazi Otto Wachter, investigating the "ratlines" by which he escaped justice.

In 2001, Philippe Sands published an Introduction to Franz Kafka's The Trial.

In 2020, Philippe Sands published The Ratline: Love, Lies and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive.

Human rights lawyer Philippe Sands relates the wider tragedy of the scandal with nerve and precision.

In May 2024, Philippe Sands joined the pianist Emanuel Ax, who was born in Lviv, for a performance at the Philharmonie de Paris entitled 'Justice, words, music: five moments'.

Philippe Sands served for a number of years on the Board of the Tricycle Theatre, and as President of English PEN from February 2018 to April 2023.

Philippe Sands is a member of the Board of the Hay Festival of Arts and Literature, and his interviewees at Hay have included Julian Assange ; Vanessa Redgrave ; Keir Starmer ; John le Carre ; Lord Justice Leveson and Tippi Hedren.