This is the UCL200 Centre for Law and Environment annual lecture.  It is also the inaugural Polly Higgins Memorial Lecture, a global lecture series honouring pioneering barrister Polly HIggins (1968-2019), who dedicated her life to advancing the recognition of ecocide as an international crime.

About the speaker:

Professor Philippe Sands KC is Professor of the Public Understanding of Law at UCL Faculty of Laws (UK) and Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School, a practising barrister and arbitrator who has addressed environmental issues before international courts and tribunals, and an award-winning author.

About the event:

5.15pm - Drinks reception - all ticket holders are welcome 
6.30pm-7.45pm - Lecture and Q&A

In 2020 Philippe Sands was invited to co-chair a working group to define a new international crime of ecocide. In this lecture, he will explore his own engagement with environmental issues, from childhood to the Chernobyl accident (the subject of his first book), to cases before the International Court of Justice and other tribunals. His next book, The Fifth Crime: On Ecocide, Justice and Hope, will be published by W&N on 8th April 2027.