Rather His Own Man
Rather His Own Man

Author: Geoffrey Robertson

Publisher: Biteback Publishing

Published: 2018-06-11

Total Pages: 414

ISBN-13: 1785903985

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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 Václav 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 UK's 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. It's a read that is both exhilarating and erudite – and very funny.

Rather His Own Man
Rather His Own Man

Author: Geoffrey Robertson

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2018-02-26

Total Pages: 496

ISBN-13: 9780143784074

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The comprehensive, brilliantly told, gloriously candid autobiography from Australia's inimitable Geoffrey Robertson. In this book he pays homage to his family and an incredible career across the world. He describes his childhood as a Bondi baby turned Eastwood boy and imbues the early chapters with fascinating family history against a backdrop of beautifully drawn social history - of the Menzies years, the restrictive fifties and sixties that propelled Geoffrey away from Australia to the UK. He talks honestly about girlfriends, including Nigella Lawson and Jennifer Byrne, and of course of meeting and marrying Kathy Lette. He writes movingly about his children, Julius and Georgina, and the challenges of bringing up a son on the autistic spectrum, his great pride at both his children's achievements. There are stories of Geoffrey's battles for student rights at Sydney Uni; his move to Oxford as a Rhodes scholar; and his early career from the Oz trial through Spycatcher; devising and broadcasting Hypotheticals; his death penalty cases; his many freedom of speech fights; the work of his London chambers, who were forerunners in legal circles in the nineties when they set up (and who now employ Amal Clooney). He writes about Assange, Snowden, corruption at Scotland Yard and MI5, and in many different regimes around the world - Geoffrey has worked on cases against African, East European and southern and central American dictators. This is a riveting read with scores of brilliant stories spanning an extraordinary career of nearly fifty years.

Court Number One
Court Number One

Author: Thomas Grant

Publisher: John Murray

Published: 2019-05-30

Total Pages: 489

ISBN-13: 147365162X

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A TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR A WATERSTONES PAPERBACK OF THE YEAR 'Superbly told' Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph 'A hamper of treats' Sunday Telegraph '[Grant employs] scholarship and depth of evidence' London Review of Books 'These tales of eleven trials are shocking, squalid, titillating and illuminating: each of them says something fascinating about how our society once was' The Times 'Deceptively thrilling' Sunday Times 'Excellent . . . Thomas Grant offers detailed accounts of eleven cases at the Old Bailey's Court Number One, with protagonists ranging from the diabolical to the pathetic. There is humour . . . but this is ultimately an affecting study of how the law gets it right - and wrong' Guardian Court Number One of the Old Bailey is the most famous court room in the world, and the venue of some of the most sensational human dramas ever to be played out in a criminal trial. The principal criminal court of England, historically reserved for the more serious and high-profile trials, Court Number One opened its doors in 1907 after the building of the 'new' Old Bailey. In the decades that followed it witnessed the trials of the most famous and infamous defendants of the twentieth century. It was here that the likes of Madame Fahmy, Lord Haw Haw, John Christie, Ruth Ellis, George Blake (and his unlikely jailbreakers, Michael Randle and Pat Pottle), Jeremy Thorpe and Ian Huntley were defined in history, alongside a wide assortment of other traitors, lovers, politicians, psychopaths, spies, con men and - of course - the innocent. Not only notorious for its murder trials, Court Number One recorded the changing face of modern British society, bearing witness to alternate attitudes to homosexuality, the death penalty, freedom of expression, insanity and the psychology of violence. Telling the stories of twelve of the most scandalous and celebrated cases across a radically shifting century, this book traces the evolving attitudes of Britain, the decline of a society built on deference and discretion, the tensions brought by a more permissive society and the rise of trial by mass media. From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Jeremy Hutchinson's Case Histories, Court Number One is a mesmerising window onto the thrills, fears and foibles of the modern age.

A Young Person’s Guide to Law and Justice
A Young Person’s Guide to Law and Justice

Author: Daniel Sokol

Publisher: Book Guild Publishing

Published: 2024-08-28

Total Pages: 101

ISBN-13: 1835741630

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‘The law isn’t what it looks like on TV: it’s more interesting. This excellent book will convince you of that.’ Henry Mance, Chief Features Writer, Financial Times Thinking of studying law at school or university? Or are you simply curious about the fascinating world of law and lawyers? A Young Person’s Guide to Law and Justice is written by an experienced father and son team of lawyers and educators. It provides an entertaining and accessible guide by blending the philosophical and practical sides of the law. You will acquire a better understanding of the world around you, and by the end of the book, you will likely know more about the law than 99% of the population.

The Trial of Vladimir Putin
The Trial of Vladimir Putin

Author: Geoffrey Robertson

Publisher: Biteback Publishing

Published: 2024-03-28

Total Pages: 179

ISBN-13: 1785908804

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Vladimir Putin's 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 world's most celebrated human rights lawyers, shows how the Nuremberg trials of Nazi leaders validate the prosecution of Putin. Ironically, Putin's 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.

War
War

Author: Andrew Clapham

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2021-07-29

Total Pages: 625

ISBN-13: 0192538446

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How relevant is the concept of war today? This book examines how notions about war continue to influence how we conceive rights and obligations in national and international law. It also considers the role international law plays in limiting what is forbidden and legitimated in times of war or armed conflict. The book highlights how, even though war has been outlawed and should be finished as an institution, states nevertheless continue to claim that they can wage necessary wars of self-defence, engage in lawful killings in war, imprison law-of-war detainees, and attack objects which are said to be part of a war-sustaining economy. The book includes an overall account of the contemporary laws of war and delves into whether states should be able to continue to claim so-called 'belligerent rights' over their enemies and those accused of breaching expectations of neutrality. A central claim in the book is as follows: while there is general agreement that war has been abolished as a legal institution for settling disputes, the time has come to admit that the belligerent rights that once accompanied states at war are no longer available. The conclusion is that claiming to be in a war or an armed conflict does not grant anyone a licence to kill people, destroy things, and acquire other people's property or territory.

Crimes Against Humanity
Crimes Against Humanity

Author: Geoffrey Robertson

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2006-08-31

Total Pages: 592

ISBN-13: 0141024631

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In this fresh edition of the book which 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 invasion of Iraq, the abuses at AbuGhraib, the killings in Darfur, the death of Milosevic and the trial of Saddam Hussein. Cautiously optimistic about ending impunity, but unsparingly critical of diplomats, politicians, Bush lawyers and others who evade international rules, this third edition will provide further guidance to a movement which aims to make justice predominant in world affairs. 'A beacon of clear-sighted commitment to the humanitarian cause. . . impassioned. . . exemplary. . . seminal' Observer

Bad People
Bad People

Author: Geoffrey Robertson

Publisher: Biteback Publishing

Published: 2021-03-30

Total Pages: 142

ISBN-13: 1785906704

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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 pole‐axed 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 full‐blooded 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 post‐pandemic world.

The Trial of Vladimir Putin
The Trial of Vladimir Putin

Author: Geoffrey Robertson, QC

Publisher:

Published: 2024-03-14

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781785908675

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There have been dozens of books about the Russian President Vladimir Putin since he launched his illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Some have examined the historical aspects of the conflict, others have analysed its military and geopolitical importance. However, none so far have looked purely at the legal consequences of that disastrous action. This remarkable survey by one of our most celebrated human rights lawyers examines how the war in effect destroys the purpose of the United Nations by exposing the fatal flaw in its 1945 Charter: all five permanent UN members have a veto on any Security Council action. Russia cannot be expelled from the General Assembly for breaching the Charter without a Security Council recommendation, which Russia itself can veto! Geoffrey Robertson looks at the difficulties of bringing Putin to trial and why the popular campaign for a court to try him in absentia would not work; gives an explanation of the International Criminal Court charges he already faces; and surmises that any future peace agreement would include an amnesty for Putin (though, that amnesty would not be valid in international law). Putin is plainly guilty of the crime of aggression. But, asks Robertson, does the Bush doctrine of 'pre-emptive self-defence', developed to justify his invasion of Iraq, provide Putin with an opt-out? And could the 'tu quoque' defence ('I did it, but you did it first') be raised at Putin's trial, as it was for Admiral Dönitz at Nuremberg? This brilliant deep-dive into international law offers a unique perspective on an unjust war that has cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and threatens to overturn the accepted world order, through the lens of its key protagonist.

The Justice Game
The Justice Game

Author: Geoffrey Robertson

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2011-01-25

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13: 1446444503

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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