2007 Harris Lecture: Philippe Sands on International Rule of Law
Philippe Sands QC, professor of law at University College London and director of the
Centre on International Courts and Tribunals in the Faculty, brought his impressive
expertise in public international law to campus on Sept. 24 for a public lecture, "Poodles
and Bulldogs: the US, Britain and the International Rule of Law."
The 2007 Addison C. Harris Lecuturer is a key member of staff in London's Centre for Law and the Environment and co-director of the Project on International Courts and Tribunals and a Risk Assessment and Biotechnology project in conjunction with New York University School of Law.
Sands author of Lawless World, a book touching on controversial topics from
as the Pinochet case and U.S. abandonment of the Kyoto Protocol on global warming to
America's selectively multilateralist policy in relation to global free trade,
and the "disgraces" of Guantanamo, Iraq, and Abu Ghraib.
A practicing barrister, he's argued before the International Court of Justice; the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea; the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes; and the European Court of Justice. He frequently advises governments, NGOs, and the private sector on aspects of international law. In 2003, he was appointed a Queen's Counsel.
Sands is a member of the Advisory Boards of the European Journal of International Law and Review of European Community and International Environmental Law (Blackwell Press). He was co-founder of the Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development (FIELD), and established the Climate Change and Sustainable Development programmes in addition to holding many academic appointments over the years.
About the Addison C. Harris Lecture
The annual Harris lecture is named for Addison C. Harris, a Wayne County native and former professor and president of the Law School (1899-1904). Established by his widow, India Crago Harris, the lecture seeks to instruct "lawyers and students of the law in the higher and more advances questions and theories thereof." Past Harris lecturers have included some of our nation's most distinguished scholars.