Law school

Law Inception Lecture 2016: Michel Massih QC: From the Old City to the Old Bailey, SOAS

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• published: 26 Oct 2016
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https://www.soas.ac.uk/law/ The Law Inception Lecture 2016: From the Old City to the Old Bailey: An Unlikely Career Pursuing Justice in Unlikely Cases was given by Michel Massih QC at the SOAS School of Law on 20 October 2016. You can find out more about this event at https://goo.gl/9xOayv Michel Massih QC is one of our most eminent and formidable criminal barristers, with a reputation for courtroom brilliance over three decades in the service of defending a long line of unpopular clients in some of the most notorious murder and terror trials of the day. He has also advised governments regarding the defence of heads of state in international criminal law cases. He came to England from Jerusalem for boarding school with the dream of a career in aeronautical engineering but shifted from science to the arts. Occupation of his birthplace a year into his studies led him to Speakers' Corner and the discovery of an aptitude for advocacy, and eventually to the Bar. He will talk about his outsider’s life in the law and the role of criminal defence in the protection of human rights in an age that could just as readily be styled the age of counter-terror as the age of terror. Kevin Jon Heller, Professor of Criminal Law at SOAS, a noted scholar of international criminal law and practising defence counsel, who has represented Radovan Karadžić at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, will serve as discussant. This is an annual public lecture to be delivered at the beginning of each academic session by a notable friend of SOAS School of Law, addressing a topical subject of general public interest which relates to the role of law in society in a broad sense. The inception lecture is intended to serve as an inspiration for our students, contribute to public debate and enhance our academic environment. The lecture is open to all new and returning students, academics, practitioners and the general public. Previous speakers have been Rt Hon. David Lammy, MP, Geoffrey Robertson, QC and Baroness Hale.