Philippe Sands

Philippe Sands (London 1960) is a Franco-British lawyer and author. The descendent of Holocaust survivors, his father originated from what is now Lithuania, and his mother came from Lviv in present-day Ukraine. The life stories of his parents and grandparents form an important backdrop to his later work. Sands completed his studies at the University of Cambridge in 1983, graduating with a Master of Laws. It was here that he developed an early interest in international law, the body of rules that governs the conduct of states, governments and international institutions and encompasses issues such as human rights, war crimes, torture, genocide, crimes against humanity, environmental damage and colonial injustice.