Philippe Sands Receives the 2026 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade

His approach lies "jenseits der üblichen Grenzen zwischen Sachbuch, literarischer Erzählung und Reportage," according to the Board of Trustees. He connects personal life stories with the great questions of international law. Sands is a Professor of International Law at University College London and a Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School.

International Law and Literary Work

Professionally, he works as a human rights lawyer at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Sands has been publishing literary nonfiction since 2016 while continuing his legal practice. Together with other jurists, he developed the offense of "ecocide" for catastrophes caused by global warming and has since advocated for its inclusion in the Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Two trials in which he participated at the International Court of Justice form the basis for "Die letzte Kolonie" and "Die Verschwundenen von Londres 38." The book "Die Verschwundenen von Londres 38," published in 2025, addresses the proceedings against Chile's dictator Augusto Pinochet and the question of whether a former head of state can claim immunity when accused of torture and serious human rights violations. Sands was also involved in this case in The Hague.

His book "Rückkehr nach Lemberg" recounts the persecution and murder of Jewish people in the present-day Ukrainian city of Lviv during the German occupation. In "Rückkehr nach Lemberg" and "Die Rattenlinie," he writes against forgetting. "Die Rattenlinie," published in 2020, examines the history of SS officer Otto Wächter.

In addition, Sands represented Gambia before the International Court of Justice in a case that Gambia had brought against Myanmar seven years earlier over an alleged genocide against the Muslim Rohingya minority. He was involved in the proceedings concerning military crimes against the Muslim Rohingya minority in Myanmar. Sands has advocated, among others, for Palestinians and the Rohingya.

Milestones as a Human Rights Lawyer

Other milestones in his legal career include the case concerning the Chagos Islands, in which he supported the government of Mauritius in regaining sovereignty over the still British-administered archipelago, as well as proceedings in the conflict between Georgia and Russia and in the dispute over the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.

The Peace Prize has been awarded since 1950 by the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels and is endowed with 25,000 euros. It honors individuals who have contributed through literature, scholarship, or art to the realization of the idea of peace. Last year, the historian Karl Schlögel was honored; among the most prominent recent laureates is the writer Salman Rushdie.

History and Endowement of the Peace Prize

Sands has already received numerous awards for his books, including the British Book Award (2017), the Prix Montaigne (2018), and the Erich Maria Remarque Peace Prize (2025). The award is traditionally presented on the last day of the Frankfurt Book Fair in the Paulskirche; the honor is traditionally conferred at the close of the Frankfurt Book Fair — this year on October 11.

The development of the "ecocide" offense was, according to the Board of Trustees, triggered by increasingly frequent environmental catastrophes in the context of global warming. Sands has since vigorously advocated for the inclusion of ecocide as a criminal offense at the International Criminal Court.

As the descendant of Holocaust survivors who, despite growing resistance, tirelessly advocates for human rights, Sands embodies, in the Board of Trustees' assessment, the connection between personal remembrance and the universal idea of law that the Peace Prize has honored since 1950.