Philippe Sands is one of the world’s leading authorities on international criminal law, human rights, and the legacy of Nuremberg. He is Professor of Public Understanding of Law at University College London and Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Days after Russia’s full-scaled invasion of Ukraine, he launched the call for what has become the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.

Sands has been involved in watershed cases that helped define the reach of contemporary international justice, notably the Pinochet proceedings, which transformed the global debate on universal jurisdiction and the accountability of former heads of state. He represents Gambia in the landmark genocide case at the International Court of Justice against Myanmar, and Palestine in an ICJ case on Israel’s occupation. His literary work has shaped public understanding of international law: East West Street (2016), his award-winning examination of the origins of the concepts of genocide and crimes against humanity, received the Baillie Gifford Prize, the British Book Awards Non-Fiction Book of the Year, and the Prix Montaigne. His follow-up, The Ratline (2021), chronicled the escape and evasion of a Nazi perpetrator and became a celebrated BBC podcast. His latest book, 38 Londres Street (2025), blends memoir, archival investigation, and courtroom drama to reveal the intertwined histories of Augusto Pinochet and Nazi SS officer Walter Rauff. He recently released the five-episode BBC History podcast The Arrest about the Pinochet case.

Sands has served as President of English PEN, sat on the board of the Hay Festival, delivered the inaugural Nuremberg Academy Lecture, and collaborated on the performance project A Song of Good and Evil, which brings law, memory, and music into public dialogue. Today, he remains one of the most influential voices connecting the worlds of law, politics, history, and journalism.

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