International law as story-telling: on writing and litigating

Graduate Institute In Conversation With

This episode features a discussion with Philippe Sands, Professor of Laws and Director of the Centre on International Courts and Tribunals at University College London, and Zachary Douglas, Professor of International Law at the Graduate Institute, Geneva. Philippe Sands explains the challenges he faced while writing his new book "The Ratline: Love, Lies and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive". The investigation into the life of Otto von Wächter, a senior Nazi indicted for 'mass murder', also shows how his son still believes in the innocence and decency of his father despite facts and evidence. Philippe Sands stresses that part of this project was to make the audience understand that we must not exclude the personal from our assessment of the narrative and why certain things happen.