Geoffrey Ronald Robertson (born 30 September 1946) is an Australian-British

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

, academic, author and broadcaster. Robertson is a founder and joint head of

Doughty Street Chambers Doughty Street Chambers is a British set of barristers' chambers situated in Bristol, Manchester and London's Doughty Street, undertaking criminal justice, public law, immigration, employment, human rights and civil liberties work. Doughty Str ...

. He serves as a Master of the Bench at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

, a

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...

, and visiting professor at

Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University ...

Early life and education

Robertson was born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia, and grew up in the suburb of Eastwood. His father, Frank, who would go on to be a senior officer of the

Commonwealth Bank The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), also known as Commonwealth Bank or simply CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of fi ...

, and later a stockbroker, survived an RAAF training flight crash in

Chiltern, Victoria Chiltern is a town in Victoria, Australia, in the northeast of the state between Wangaratta and Wodonga, in the Shire of Indigo. At the 2021 census, Chiltern had a population of 1,580. It is the birthplace of Prime Minister John McEwen. The t ...

, in 1943. He went to

Epping Boys High School Epping Boys High School is a comprehensive, public high school located in Marsfield, New South Wales, Australia, established in 1957. The current principal is Jessica Schadel. Achievements As well as high achievements in the creative and perfo ...

and then attended the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1966 and a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

with First-Class Honours in 1970, before winning a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

to study at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL or B.C.L.; ) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge; at Oxford, the BCL contin ...

from

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies f ...

in 1972. In 2006 he was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by the

Awards

Robertson won Australian Humanist of the Year in 2014 for his work as a human rights lawyer and advocate.

Legal career

Robertson became a barrister in 1973, and was appointed QC in 1988. He became well known after acting as defence counsel in the celebrated English criminal trials of '' OZ'', ''

Gay News ''Gay News'' was a fortnightly newspaper in the United Kingdom founded in June 1972 in a collaboration between former members of the Gay Liberation Front and members of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE). At the newspaper's height, circu ...

'', the

ABC trial ''R v Aubrey, Berry and Campbell'', better known as the ABC Trial, was a trial conducted in the United Kingdom in the 1970s, of three men for offences under the Official Secrets Act 1911. The men were two libertarian journalists of a similar ...

, ''

The Romans in Britain ''The Romans in Britain'' is a 1980 stage play by Howard Brenton that comments upon imperialism and the abuse of power. It was the subject of an unsuccessful private prosecution for gross indecency brought by the conservative moral campaigner ...

'' (the prosecution brought by

Mary Whitehouse Constance Mary Whitehouse (; 13 June 1910 – 23 November 2001) was a British teacher and conservative activist. She campaigned against social liberalism and the mainstream British media, both of which she accused of encouraging a more permis ...

Randle Randle, as a surname or a given name, may refer to: Surname * Betsy Randle (born 1955), American actress * Bill Randle (1923–2004), American disc jockey, lawyer and university professor * Brian Randle (born 1985), American NBA coach and basketba ...

& Pottle, the

Brighton bombing On 12 October 1984 the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) attempted to assassinate members of the British government, including the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, at the Grand Brighton Hotel, Gr ...

and

Matrix Churchill The Arms-to-Iraq affair concerned the uncovering of the government-endorsed sale of arms by British companies to Iraq, then under the rule of Saddam Hussein. The scandal contributed to the growing dissatisfaction with the Conservative government ...

. He also defended the artist J. S. G. Boggs from a

private prosecution A private prosecution is a criminal proceeding initiated by an individual private citizen or private organisation (such as a prosecution association) instead of by a public prosecutor who represents the state. Private prosecutions are allowed in ...

brought by the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

regarding his depictions of British currency. In 1989 and 1990 he led the defence team for

Rick Gibson Rick Gibson (born 1951) is a Canadian sculptor and artist best known for his performance works. Early life and education Gibson was born in Montreal and studied psychology at the University of Victoria, where between 1973 and 1974 he drew weekl ...

, a Canadian artist, and Peter Sylveire, a director of an art gallery, who were charged with

outraging public decency Outraging public decency is a common law offence in England and Wales, Halsbury's Laws of England 5th edition, volume 26, paragraph 717 Hong Kong and the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria. It is punishable by unlimited impriso ...

for exhibiting earrings made from human foetuses. He has also acted in well-known libel cases, including defending ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' against Neil Hamilton MP. Robertson was threatened by terrorists for representing

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...

. In 1972 he advised

Peter Hain Peter Gerald Hain, Baron Hain, (born 16 February 1950), is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2005 to 2007, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2007 to 2008 and twice as Secretary of State ...

as a

McKenzie friend A McKenzie friend assists a litigant in person in a court of law in Australia, Canada, England and Wales, Hong Kong, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and New Zealand, by prompting, taking notes, and quietly giving advice. They need not b ...

when Hain defended himself on several charges including conspiracy to trespass arising from his involvement in anti-

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

protests, as a protest against the apartheid regime. During the ten-day trial at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

Hain dismissed his QCs, but retained Robertson and another as advisers, before being convicted and fined £200. Robertson was also employed to defend

John Stonehouse John Thomson Stonehouse (28 July 192514 April 1988) was a British Labour and Co-operative Party politician, businessman and minister who was a member of the Cabinet under Prime Minister Harold Wilson. He is remembered for his unsuccessful atte ...

after his unsuccessful attempt at faking his own death in 1974. In March 2000 in the Independent Schools Tribunal, sitting at the

Royal Courts of Justice The Royal Courts of Justice, commonly called the Law Courts, is a court building in Westminster which houses the High Court and Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The High Court also sits on circuit and in other major cities. Designed by Ge ...

, he successfully defended A. S. Neill's

Summerhill School Summerhill School is an independent (i.e. fee-charging) day and boarding school in Leiston, Suffolk, England. It was founded in 1921 by Alexander Sutherland Neill with the belief that the school should be made to fit the child, rather than ...

, a private free school. The proceedings were brought by

OFSTED The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

on behalf of

David Blunkett David Blunkett, Baron Blunkett, (born 6 June 1947) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education and Employment from 1997 to 2001, Home Secretary from 2001 to 2004 and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in 2005. ...

, the Education Minister, who was seeking the closure of the school. The case was later dramatised by

Tiger Aspect Productions Tiger Aspect Productions (formerly known as Tiger Television from 1988 until 1993 and also known as Tiger Aspect Films for theatrical films) is a British television and film production company, particularly noted for its situation comedies. Fo ...

in a TV series entitled ''Summerhill'' and broadcast on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

and

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

. In August 2000, Robertson was retained by the heavyweight boxing champion

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...

for a hearing before the

British Boxing Board of Control The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom. History The British Boxing Board of Control was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff. ...

(BBBoC). The disciplinary hearing related to two counts relating to Tyson's behaviour – failing to stop throwing punches after the referee had stopped the fight – after his 38-second victory over

Lou Savarese Louis "''Lou''" Savarese (born July 14, 1965) is an American former professional boxer and mixed martial artist who competed 1989 to 2013. He is from Greenwood Lake, New York. In January 1996, Savrese won IBF USBA Heavyweight title by knocking ...

in Glasgow in June that year. Tyson escaped a ban from fighting in Britain. Robertson successfully deployed a defence of freedom of expression for Tyson, the first use before the BBBoC, but Tyson was convicted on the other count and fined. In 2002 he defended

Dow Jones Dow Jones is a combination of the names of business partners Charles Dow and Edward Jones. Dow Jones & Company Dow, Jones and Charles Bergstresser founded Dow Jones & Company in 1882. That company eventually became a subsidiary of News Corp, an ...

in '' Dow Jones & Co Inc v Gutnick'', a case where

Joseph Gutnick Joseph Isaac "Diamond Joe" Gutnick (born June 1952; ) is an Australian businessman, mining industry entrepreneur and the former president of the Melbourne Football Club (1996–2001). He is also an ordained Orthodox rabbi, and is well known for ...

, an Australian mining magnate, sued Dow Jones after an article critical of him was published on the website of ''

Barron's ''Barron's'' (stylized in all caps) is an American weekly magazine and newspaper published by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corp, since 1921. Founded as ''Barron's National Financial Weekly'' in 1921 by Clarence W. Barron (1855–19 ...

'' newspaper. Gutnick successfully applied to the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...

, requesting for the case to be heard in Australia rather than the United States, where the

First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

protects free speech. Robertson then appealed the case to the

United Nations Human Rights Committee The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a treaty body composed of 18 experts, established by a 1966 human rights treaty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee meets for three four-week sessions per yea ...

. The case was described as a "very worrying decision" as it potentially opened the door for libel cases related to internet publishing to be heard in any country and in multiple countries for the same article. In December 2002 Robertson was retained by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' to represent its veteran war correspondent, Jonathan Randal, in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

at the United Nations Court, the

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes in the Yugoslav Wars, war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to tr ...

. He established the principle of qualified privilege for the protection of journalists in war crimes courts. In 2006 Geoffrey Robertson successfully defended ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' (''WSJ'') in '' Jameel v Wall Street Journal Europe''. The case centred on an article published in the ''WSJ'' in 2002, which alleged that the United States were monitoring the bank accounts of a Saudi Arabian businessman to ensure he was not funding terrorists. Jameel, who was represented by

Carter-Ruck Carter-Ruck is a British law firm founded by Peter Carter-Ruck. The firm specialises in libel, privacy, international law and commercial disputes. The leading legal directories (Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners) rank Carter-Ruck in the top ...

, was originally awarded £40,000 in damages but this was overturned in favour of the ''WSJ''. The case was viewed by ''

The Lawyer ''The Lawyer'' is a legal business information product for law firm leaders, commercial lawyers, barristers A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advoc ...

'' as a landmark case which redefined the earlier case of ''

Reynolds v Times Newspapers Ltd ''Reynolds v Times Newspapers Ltd'' was a House of Lords case in English defamation law concerning qualified privilege for publication of defamatory statements in the public interest. The case provided the Reynolds defence, which could be raised ...

'', upholding the right to publish if it is deemed to be in the public interest. In early 2007, instructed by the Indigenous lawyer

Michael Mansell Michael Alexander Mansell (born 5 June 1951) is a Tasmanian Aboriginal (Palawa) activist and lawyer who has campaigned for social, political and legal changes. Mansell is partly of Palawa descent from the Trawlwoolway group on his mother's sid ...

, Robertson took proceedings for the

Aboriginal Tasmanians The Aboriginal Tasmanians (palawa kani: ''Palawa'' or ''Pakana'') are the Aboriginal people of the Australian island of Tasmania, located south of the mainland. At the time of European contact, Aboriginal Tasmanians were divided into a numb ...

to recover 15 sets of their stolen ancestral remains, then being held in the basement of the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

in London. He accused the museum of wishing to retain them for "genetic prospecting". Robertson has appeared in cases before the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

and in other courts across the world. Among these, Robertson was involved in the defence of

Michael X Michael X (17 August 1933 – 16 May 1975), born Michael de Freitas, was a Trinidad and Tobago-born self-styled black revolutionary, convicted murderer, and civil rights activist in 1960s London. He was also known as Michael Abdul Malik and A ...

in Trinidad and has appeared for the defence in a libel case against the former Singaporean prime minister

Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (born Harry Lee Kuan Yew; 16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean politician who ruled as the first Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. He is widely recognised ...

. He was also involved in the controversial inquest of Helen Smith and also in the Blom-Cooper Commission inquiry into the smuggling of guns from Israel through Antigua to Colombia. Robertson has been on several human rights missions on behalf of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

, including to

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

Venda Venda ( ), officially the Republic of Venda (; ), was a Bantustan in northern South Africa. It was fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while, to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black hom ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and South Africa. Until 2007 he sat as an appeal judge at the UN Special Court for Sierra Leone. In 2010 Robertson unsuccessfully defended

Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of News leak, leaks from Chels ...

, the founder of

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is a non-profit media organisation and publisher of leaked documents. It is funded by donations and media partnerships. It has published classified documents and other media provided by anonymous sources. It was founded in 2006 by ...

, in extradition proceedings in the United Kingdom. In 2013 Robertson was appointed an honorary associate of the

National Secular Society The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. The Soc ...

. On 28 January 2015 he represented

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

with barrister

Amal Clooney Amal Clooney (; born ) is a British International human rights law, international human rights lawyer. She has represented several high-profile clients, including former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, form ...

at the

(ECHR) in the '' Perinçek v. Switzerland'' case. He called

Doğu Perinçek Doğu Perinçek (; born 17 June 1942) is a Turkish politician, doctor of law and former communist revolutionary who has been chairman of the left-wing nationalist Patriotic Party since 2015. He was also a member of the Talat Pasha Committee, an ...

a "vexatious litigant pest" at the ECHR hearing. From 2016, Robertson has been representing former Brazilian president Lula da Silva with appeals to the

regarding Lula's treatment by the Brazilian justice system. Robertson is a patron of the

Media Legal Defence Initiative Media Defence (or Media Legal Defence Initiative) is a non-governmental organization established in 2008 to provide legal assistance to journalists, citizen journalists and independent media institutions. It also supports training in media law and ...

Media career

Since 11 March 1984, often with long intervals in between, Robertson has hosted the Australian television series ''Geoffrey Robertson's Hypotheticals'' on ABC TV. These shows invite notable people, often including former and current political leaders, to discuss contemporary issues by assuming imagined identities in hypothetical situations. Robertson published printed collections of these in 1986 and 1991. In 2022, the ''Hypothetical'' "All at Sea" was staged at the Darling Harbour Theatre in Sydney and later broadcast by

Radio National ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. ...

. Further stage shows were presented around Australia in 2024. He speaks at public events including many literary festivals. In 2009 he spoke at the Ideas Festival in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia. Robertson appeared several times on the Australian panel discussion program ''

Q+A QA or qa may refer to: Businesses Airlines * Qantas Airlines, Australia (founded 1920) * Aerocaribe, Mexico (1972–2005) * Cimber (airline), Denmark (2012–2018)) * MexicanaClick, Mexico (2005–2010) Education * QA (company), a British ...

'', first in 2010 on a special program from the

Festival of Dangerous Ideas A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival constitutes ...

Writing career

Robertson has written many books. One of them, ''The Justice Game'' (1998), is on the school curriculum in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. His 2005 book ''The Tyrannicide Brief: The Story of the Man Who Sent Charles I to the Scaffold'' details the story of John Cooke, who prosecuted

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. Charles was born ...

in the

treason trial The Treason Trial was a trial in Johannesburg in which 156 people, including Nelson Mandela, were arrested in a raid and accused of treason in South Africa in 1956. The main trial lasted until 1961, when all of the defendants were found not g ...

that led to his execution. After the

Stuart Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

, Cooke was convicted of high treason and

hanged, drawn and quartered To be hanged, drawn and quartered was a method of torture, torturous capital punishment used principally to execute men convicted of High treason in the United Kingdom, high treason in medieval and early modern Britain and Ireland. The convi ...

. In his 2006 revision of ''Crimes Against Humanity'', Robertson deals in detail with human rights,

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

and

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

s. The book starts with the history of human rights and has several case studies such as the case of General

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...

of Chile, the Balkans Wars, and the 2003

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

. His views on the United States'

atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, during World War II. The aerial bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civili ...

in Japan can be considered controversial. He considers the

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

bomb was certainly justified, and that the second bomb on

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

was most probably justified but that it might have been better if it was dropped outside a city. His argument is that the bombs, while killing more than 100,000 civilians, were justified because they pushed Emperor

Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...

of Japan to surrender, thus saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of allied forces, as well as Japanese soldiers and civilians. In his 2010 book, '' The Case of the Pope'', Robertson claims that

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

is guilty of protecting

pedophiles Pedophilia ( alternatively spelled paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of pubert ...

because the church swore the victims to secrecy and moved perpetrators in

Catholic Church sex abuse cases There have been many cases of sexual abuse of children by priests, nuns, and other members of religious life in the Catholic Church. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the cases have involved several allegations, investigations, tri ...

to other positions where they had access to children while knowing the perpetrators were likely to reoffend. This, Robertson believes, constitutes the crime of assisting underage sex and when he was still Cardinal Ratzinger, the retired pope approved this policy up to November 2002. In Robertson's opinion, the Vatican is not a sovereign state and the pope is not immune from prosecution. In ''An Inconvenient Genocide: Who Now Remembers the Armenians?'' (2014) Robertson presents an argument based on fact, evidence and his knowledge of international law, claiming that the horrific events that occurred in 1915 constitute genocide.

Personal life

In 1990, Robertson married the author Kathy Lette, and they lived together in London with their children until their separation in 2017. They had met in 1988 during the filming of an episode of ''Hypothetical'' for

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

; Robertson was dating

Nigella Lawson Nigella Lucy Lawson (born 6 January 1960) is an English food writer and television cook. After graduating from Oxford, Lawson worked as a book reviewer and restaurant critic, later becoming the deputy literary editor of ''The Sunday Times'' in ...

at the time and Lette was married to Kim Williams. In Robertson's 2010 ''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

'' entry, his hobbies are listed as tennis, opera and fishing. Robertson became a British citizen in 2003.

Bibliography

*''Reluctant Judas'', Temple-Smith, 1976 *''Obscenity'',

Weidenfeld & Nicolson Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd (established 1949), often shortened to W&N or Weidenfeld, is a British publisher of fiction and reference books. It has been a division of the French-owned Orion Publishing Group since 1991. History George Weidenfeld ...

, 1979 *''People Against the Press'', Quartet, 1983 *''Geoffrey Robertson's Hypotheticals'',

Angus & Robertson Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: A ...

, 1986 *''Does Dracula Have Aids?'', Angus & Robertson, 1987 *''Geoffrey Robertson's Hypotheticals – A New Collection'',

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

, 1991 *''Freedom the Individual and the Law'', Penguin, 1993 (7th ed) *''The Justice Game'', 1998 Chatto; Viking edition 1999 *''Crimes Against Humanity – The Struggle for Global Justice'', Alan Lane, 1999; revised 2002 (Penguin paperback) and 2006 *''The Tyrannicide Brief'',

Chatto & Windus Chatto & Windus is an imprint of Penguin Random House that was formerly an independent book publishing company founded in London in 1855 by John Camden Hotten. Following Hotten's death, the firm would reorganize under the names of his busines ...

, 2005 *''Media Law'' (with Andrew Nicol QC),

Sweet & Maxwell Sweet & Maxwell is a British publisher specialising in legal publications. It joined the Associated Book Publishers in 1969; ABP was purchased by the International Thomson Organization in 1987, and is now part of Thomson Reuters. Its British ...

, 5th edition, 2008 *''Statute of Liberty'',

Vintage Books Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was acquired by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random Ho ...

Australia, March 2009, *''Was there an Armenian Genocide?''
online
, October 2009, *'' The Case of the Pope: Vatican Accountability for Human Rights Abuse'', Penguin, October 2010, *''The Massacre of Political Prisoners in Iran, 1988'', with Sarah Graham, Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation, 2011, ; and ''Addendum'' 2013, ; see

1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners In mid-1988, the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, ordered the execution of thousands of political prisoners. These executions happened throughout Iran and lasted about five months, beginning in July. They took place in at least 32 ci ...

. *''Mullahs Without Mercy: How to Stop Iran's First Nuclear Strike'', Vintage, October 2012, *''Dreaming too loud : Reflections on a race apart'', Vintage, 2013, *''

Stephen Ward Stephen Thomas Ward (19 October 1912 – 3 August 1963) was an English osteopath and artist who was one of the central figures in the 1963 Profumo affair, a British political scandal which brought about the resignation of John Profumo, the Sec ...

was Innocent, OK'',

Biteback Publishing Biteback Publishing is a British publisher based in Hull, and concentrating mainly on political titles. It was incorporated, as a private limited company with share capital, in 2009. It was jointly owned by its managing director Iain Dale and ...

, 2013, *''An Inconvenient Genocide: Who Now Remembers the Armenians?'', 2014 *''Rather His Own Man: Reliable Memoirs'', 2018 *''Who Owns History?

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manit ...

's Loot and the Case for Returning Plundered Treasure'', Biteback Publishing, 2019, *
The Trial of Vladimir Putin
', Biteback Publishing, 2024

References

External links

*
Geoffrey Robertson QC, profile
at Doughty Street Chambers website *

*, ''

Charlie Rose Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show ''Charlie Rose (talk show), Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg L.P., Bloombe ...

'', 16 March 2015
"Iran's President Raisi: mullah without mercy evades justice"
''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

'', 26 June 2021 (on

Ebrahim Raisi Ebrahim Raisolsadati (14 December 1960 – 19 May 2024), better known as Ebrahim Raisi, was an Iranian politician who served as the eighth president of Iran from 2021 until 2024 Varzaqan helicopter crash, his death in a helicopter crash in 202 ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Geoffrey 1946 births Living people Academics of Queen Mary University of London Australian emigrants to England Australian non-fiction writers Australian King's Counsel Australian Rhodes Scholars British republicans Australian republicans British humanists Australian humanists British barristers British legal writers Members of the Middle Temple Officers of the Order of Australia People educated at Epping Boys High School Lawyers from Sydney Special Court for Sierra Leone judges University of Sydney alumni Writers from New South Wales Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom British King's Counsel Australian judges of United Nations courts and tribunals British judges of United Nations courts and tribunals Human rights lawyers 20th-century King's Counsel 21st-century King's Counsel