Philippe Sands awarded Peace Prize for international law and human rights work

Philippe Sands, the French-British international law expert and author, has been awarded the 2026 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. The Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels announced the decision on 25 June, citing his persistent advocacy for justice, peace, and the defense of international law. Sands, a professor at University College London and visiting professor at Harvard Law School, has practiced before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, representing states and victims in some of the most contentious cases of recent decades.

A career in international law

Sands has taken on cases spanning genocide, occupation, and environmental destruction. He represented Mauritius in its bid to regain sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, where the UK deported the entire population in 1967 and leased the territory to the United States for a military base. In 2019, the International Court of Justice ruled that the UK must end its occupation, though Britain initially refused. A return agreement was signed only in 2025.

“To set out a case is to tell a story.”

Sands also exposed Guantanamo Bay torture plans, supported Georgia in its conflict with Russia, and argued on behalf of Palestine regarding the legality of Israeli occupation. He currently co-leads the legal team for Gambia in a genocide case against Myanmar for the persecution of the Rohingya minority. In the early 2020s, he helped formulate the crime of 'ecocide', the large-scale destruction of ecosystems, and campaigns for its adoption by the International Criminal Court.

Literary non-fiction

Since 2016, Sands has written a series of literary non-fiction books that blend memoir, history, and legal analysis. His breakthrough 'East West Street' (published in German as 'Rückkehr nach Lemberg') traces the origins of the legal concepts of 'genocide' and 'crimes against humanity' through the story of his own Jewish family in Lviv during the Holocaust. 'The Last Colony' (2023) chronicles the Chagos islanders' decades-long fight for justice, while 'The Vanished of Londres 38' links the trial of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet to the hidden history of a Nazi officer in Patagonia. The jury praised his 'narrative brilliance' and 'historical depth'.

The prize

The Peace Prize of the German Book Trade carries an honorarium of 25,000 euros and will be presented on 11 October 2026 in Frankfurt's Paulskirche. The jury, chaired by Sebastian Guggolz, described Sands as 'one of the most important intellectual voices of our time' and noted how his own family history illustrates the hard-won principles of modern international law.

“Sands shows along his own family history how this law came about and what experiences lie behind the terms 'genocide' and 'crimes against humanity'.”

Awarded since 1950, the prize has recognized figures from literature, science, and the arts who contribute to peace. This year's choice highlights the role of legal scholarship and storytelling in confronting injustice.