The Story of the Man who sent Charles I to the Scaffold

The Tyrannicide Brief

Life and law during the Civil Wars as you have never seen it before - and a passionate argument for the people's right of justice against tyrannical leaders.

Redeems from obscurity an unsung hero of true greatness... Sheds invigorating light on the course of the English civil war

Robertson has come up with that desperately rare thing: a subject worthy of biography who has never before been addressed and, to his huge advantage, in his field. The result is a work of literary advocacy as elegant, impassioned and original as any the author can ever have laid before a court

Robertson tells a spellbinding story. He combines lucid analysis of the legal issues with acute understanding of the various factions. His prose is crisp and he inserts some comments that only a professional advocate, as opposed to an academic historian, would make

Fascinating... Illuminating... This is a work of great compassion and, at a time when it seems to be fashionable for politicians to denigrate lawyers, it is an essential read for anyone who believes in the fearless independence of the law

[Robertson's] forensic intelligence can penetrate where professional historians have not reached

Geoffrey Robertson QC is a leading human rights lawyer and a UN war-crimes judge. He has been counsel in many notable Old Bailey trials, has defended hundreds of men facing death sentences in the Caribbean, and has won landmark rulings on civil liberty from the highest courts in Britain, Europe and the Commonwealth. He was involved in cases against General Pinochet and Hastings Banda, and in the training of judges who tried Saddam Hussein. His book Crimes against Humanity has been an inspiration for the global justice movement, and he is the author of an acclaimed memoir, The Justice Game, and the textbook Media Law. He is married to Kathy Lette. Mr Robertson is Head of Doughty Street Chambers, a Master of the Middle Temple, a Recorder and visiting professor at Queen Mary College, University of London.

Charles I waged civil wars that cost one in ten Englishmen their lives. But in 1649 parliament was hard put to find a lawyer with the skill and daring to prosecute a King who was above the law: in the end the man they briefed was the radical barrister, John Cooke. 
 
Cooke was a plebeian, son of a poor farmer, but he had the courage to bring the King's trial to its dramatic conclusion: the English republic. Cromwell appointed him as a reforming Chief Justice in Ireland, but in 1660 he was dragged back to the Old Bailey, tried and brutally executed. 
 
John Cooke was the bravest of barristers, who risked his own life to make tyranny a crime. He originated the right to silence, the 'cab rank' rule of advocacy and the duty to act free-of-charge for the poor. He conducted the first trial of a Head of State for waging war on his own people - a forerunner of the prosecutions of Pinochet, Miloševic and Saddam Hussein, and a lasting inspiration to the modern world.

The Justice Game

For all his reputation as a radical lawyer, flailing at the Establishment, he proves himself to be a believer

This wonderful book...reads like a John Grisham, infused with moral anger

Well-written, powerful...Robertson's work has changed the way government works, and made it more accountable...a good read for people of any age

Geoffrey Robertson Q.C. is one of those few fearless and romantic lawyers dedicated to reducing the difference between law and justice

Compellingly told, entertaining, sometimes hilarious and always illuminating

Geoffrey Robertson QC is Head of Doughty Street Chambers and the author of textbooks on constitutional and media law. He has appeared as counsel in many landmark cases in Britain and the Commonwealth and in the European Court of Human Rights, and has conducted missions for the Bar and for Amnesty International. He has received a number of awards for his writing and broadcasting, and is currently a Visiting Professor at Birkbeck College. He helped to found Charter 88 and is an exectuive member of JUSTICE and the Institute of Contmeporary Arts. 
 
He is married to the author Kathy Lette; they live in London with their two children.

Geoffrey Robertson QC has been at the centre of internationally high-profile legal cases for over three decades. From representing Princess Diana to Salman Rushdie, to his involvement in the celebrated criminal trials of Oz magazine and Gay News, Robertson is an unfailing champion of human rights, justice, freedom and democracy. In this captivating memoir, Robertson reveals what draws him to each case, his ingenious analysis and interpretation of the courtroom proceedings, and the legal and civic consequences – wrapping each case into a thrilling, rollercoaster sequence of events. 
 
Entertaining, scandalous and hugely insightful, The Justice Game provides a piercing behind-the-scenes look into courtroom cases, the practice of the law and the never-ending fight in striving to narrow the gap between the law and justice. A highly recommended read for those interested in current affairs, criminal and public law, legal history and the British legal system. 
 
‘This wonderful book...reads like a John Grisham, infused with moral anger’ Independent

Geoffrey Robertson

The Struggle For Global Justice

In a newly updated edition of Crimes Against Humanity, Geoffrey Robertson QC explains why we must hold political and military leaders accountable for genocide, torture and mass murder. He shows how human rights standards can be enforced against cruel governments, armies and multi-national corporations. This seminal work contains a critical perspective on events such as the invasion of Iraq, the abuses at Abu Ghraib, the killings in Darfur, the death of Milosevic and the trial of Saddam Hussein. 
 
Cautiously optimistic about ending impunity, but unsparingly critical of diplomats, politicians, Bush lawyers and others who evade international rules, this book will provide further guidance to a movement which aims to make justice predominant in world affairs.

Geoffrey Robertson

Crimes Against Humanity

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