We invite you to attend a conversation with Professor Philippe Sands, one of the world’s foremost experts on international law, on impunity, immunity and universal jurisdiction at historic Courtroom 600 of the Nuremberg Palace of Justice, on 6 May 2025 at 6 pm.
The discussion with Deputy Director Dr Viviane Dittrich will focus on the case against former Chilean President Augusto Pinochet, the role of former Nazi SS officer Walter Rauff, who evaded justice in Chile, and the lasting significance of the Nuremberg trial and the Nuremberg Principles. When Pinochet was arrested in London in 1998, Professor Sands was approached to advise the former Head of State on his claim to immunity. Instead, he chose to represent Human Rights Watch against Pinochet.
The event will feature readings from Professor Sands’ latest book, 38 Londres Street. On Impunity, Pinochet in England, and a Nazi in Patagonia. Blending personal memoir, historical detective work and gripping courtroom drama, the book uncovers a hidden history of mass murder that links the horrors of the 1940s to our present time.
The event is open to the public without prior registration and will be held in English. Access is via the Memorium Nuremberg Trials (Bärenschanzstraße 72, 90429 Nürnberg).
Philippe Sands KC is Professor of Public Understanding of Law at University College London, and Samuel and Judith Pisar Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. He is also barrister at 11 King’s Bench Walk Chambers. He appears as Counsel before international courts and tribunals and sits as an international arbitrator. His latest books are East West Street: On the Origins of Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2016) (awarded the 2016 Baillie Gifford Prize, the 2017 British Book Awards Non-Fiction Book of the Year, and the 2018 Prix Montaigne) and The Ratline: Love, Lies and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2020), also available as a BBC podcast. He was President of English PEN and a member of the Board of the Hay Festival of Arts and Literature. Professor Sands delivered the inaugural Nuremberg Academy Lecture in 2020 and was in charge of the special performance of “A Song of Good and Evil” in 2015. (vd/em)