Judge Eugene Cotran (6 August 1938 – 7 June 2014) was a circuit judge in England and one of the main jurists in charge of the drafting of a Basic Law of Palestine.

Biography

Born in Jerusalem on 6 August 1938, Cotran studied at Victoria College in Alexandria, Egypt and the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

, taking both a bachelor and master of laws degree in 1958. He was a research fellow in

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

at the Trinity Hall at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

taking a diploma in international law in 1959. He was in 1971 awarded an LL.D. by the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

for his publications in the field of African law and his work at the

School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

in London. He was called to the

English bar Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. Barristers have traditionally had the role of handling cases for representation in court, both defence and prosecutio ...

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1959. He subsequently practiced at 2 Paper Building in the

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

from 1963 to 1992. He was in 1977 appointed a High Court Judge in Kenya, having been a Kenyan law commissioner in 1967-68, and remained in this position until 1982. On his return to London he became a visiting professor and chairman of the Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law at the SOAS whilst continuing to practice at the English bar. He was joint head of chambers with Rt Hon Sir

Desmond Lorenz de Silva Sir George Desmond Lorenz de Silva, (13 December 1939 – 2 June 2018) was a British criminal law barrister and international lawyer who served as the United Nations Chief War Crimes Prosecutor in Sierra Leone. Early life Desmond de Silva was ...

QC from 1986 to 1992. He was appointed as a

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in 1989 and as such sat as a judge in the

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...

until his appointment as a circuit judge in 1992. After his appointment as a circuit judge in 1992 he initially sat in crime, largely at Southwark Crown Court, but subsequently he sat only on civil cases in the County Court. His interventionist style whilst sitting in Court attracted criticism in the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

on several occasions. After the Oslo Accords, Judge Cotran was in 1994 appointed to the Board of the Commissioners of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights (PICHR). He assisted in the drafting of the Basic Law for Palestine. He also worked in projects for the unification of the laws of the West Bank and Gaza and has also acted as an Advisor to the Negotiation Affairs Department of the PLO. Eugene Cotran died in London on 7 June 2014.

Works published

* ''Readings in African Law Cb: Volumes 1 and 2'' (together with Neville Rubin) (Routledge: 1970) * ''The Arab-Israeli Accords: Legal Perspective'' (Cimel Book Series, 1996) * ''The Role of the Judiciary in the Protection of Human Rights'' (Centre of Islamic & Middle Eastern Law Series, 1997) * ''Democracy: The Rule of Law and Islam'' (Cimel Book Series, 1999) * ''The Rule of Law in the Middle East and the Islamic World: Human Rights and the Judicial Process'' (together with Mai Yamani, 2000) * ''The Protection of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories'' (together with Emma Brown), in: Rainer Grote and Tilmann Röder (eds.), ''Constitutionalism in Islamic Countries: Between Upheaval and Continuity'' (OUP: Oxford and New York 2011)

References

External links

Homepage at the SOAS

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cotran, Eugene 1938 births 2014 deaths Academics of SOAS University of London Victoria College, Alexandria alumni Alumni of the University of Leeds Alumni of the University of London Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge 21st-century English judges Kenyan judges People from Jerusalem 20th-century English judges