Bad People – and How to Be Rid of Them: A Plan B for Human Rights

by Geoffrey Robertson

Geoffrey Robertson's Plan B for punishing human rights abusers: ‘Magnitsky Laws’, which could impose debilitating sanctions on ‘bad people’.

Twenty years ago Geoffrey Robertson inspired the global justice movement with his ground-breaking book, Crimes Against Humanity. Since then, the movement has stalled, as nationalism takes hold and populist governments retreat from international courts and refuse to comply with their rulings.

But there is an alternative. The Plan B for human rights looks back to national laws to name, blame and shame abusers. It strips them of their right to enter democratic nations, and of ill-gotten funds they seek to deposit in global banks; and it bars them and their families from schools and hospitals in these countries.

This book explains the background and potential of these laws, which have been called Magnitsky Laws, after Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer who died in a Russian jail after exposing state corruption. Early versions of them have been introduced in the US, Canada and Britain, and they are now being considered in Australia.

Geoffrey Robertson argues in this book that the Magnitsky movement offers a potent solution to crimes being committed against humanity, whether in America, Russia, China or Belarus. These abuses are a concern for all human beings, and good people are no longer prepared to tolerate them, in their own country or elsewhere in the world. The Magnitsky laws can show the way forward for the global justice movement in the twenty-first century.

Genres: Law, Nonfiction

223 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 4, 2021

About the author

Geoffrey Ronald Robertson QC (born 30 September 1946) is a human rights barrister, academic, author and broadcaster. He holds dual Australian and British citizenship.

Robertson is a founder and joint head of Doughty Street Chambers. He serves as a Master of the Bench at the Middle Temple, a recorder, and visiting professor at Queen Mary, University of London.

Reviews

[Eleanor Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so freaking interesting especially with everything going on in the world right now.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Human rights lawyer and academic Robertson has spent too long trying to get tyrants and dictators to the International Criminal Court, let alone have them convicted. He has watched them commit atrocities against their own people, while freely living or travelling in Western countries, sending their children to be educated in Western schools, and stealing international aid. In this book, Robertson argues that bringing corrupt and cruel leaders to justice via the United Nations is not working, so it’s time for Plan B. His argument is to hit them with economic sanctions, ban them from Western countries, and ultimately hurt them in their Swiss bank accounts. It’s a sound argument and delivered with all Robertson’s wit, insight and attention to detail. At a time when democracy stands at a crossroads, Robertson illuminates a path to a just and ethical future.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Australian human rights lawyer, Geoffrey Robertson, argues here for a "plan B for human rights', noting that current International Criminal laws are starting to falter and are now insufficient. Instead, Robertson takes his ques from the Nuremberg judgement of 1946, which stated that individual men and women were responsible for human rights atrocities and not political movements, Governments or sovereign states with 'just following orders' being no excuse.

Therefore, throughout this book, Robertson, using the horrific abuse and death of Sergei Magnitsky in Russia during 2008, convincingly argues that sanctions targeted against specific individuals who are not being prosecuted or punished in their home countries, is a better idea, given how human rights abusers spend money, holiday, send their children to school and take advantage of the health systems of other nations.

This was an interesting book that forwards an important argument and opened my eyes to human rights abuses that I had not been previously aware.

[Hadil Albarqi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new human rights regime dependent not on international but national law, providing deterrence not by imprisonment but by loss of money and reputation, can be described as offering a 'Plan B' for human rights.

Many of them will have acted to benefit their families, so the restrictions on schooling and hospital treatment would be frustrating.

Democracy is a necessary condition for human rights to flourish, but it is by no means sufficient.

If there is not a special circle in hell for politically corrupt judges, there should be at least a Magnitsky list.

[Claire Baxter · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Some interesting bits such as the idea of sanctioning companies that use forced labour in their supply chains. But having been written before 2022 it now feels a bit out of date and is a bit repetitive - like a long form essay that has been stretched and padded to turn it into a book.

[Vannessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overview of the history of human rights and how the Magnitsky laws (of individual sanctions) fit into it.

[Nate Fallon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first came across Geoffrey Robertson when I read his ground breaking Crimes Against Humanity in High School. Since then he has continued to be outspoken on human rights and global justice. I was excited to read this book, which I hoped would posit a resolution to the ineffective ICC (what Robertson terms the ‘Plan A’ for human rights), which is stymied by issues of state sovereignty, political will, and it’s shamefully slow and selective approach to justice. I was not disappointed. Robertson’s exploration of the profound potential of the ‘Plan B’ for human rights - smart sanctions underlined by Magnitsky laws, is convincing and skilfully addresses the abounding criticisms of the current international justice framework. Robertson also presents a clear and concise overview of contemporary human rights abuses and current issues of concern around the world, providing a fairly comprehensive insight into the space for readers of all backgrounds.

Having said the above, I did find parts of this book repetitive. Robertson also shamelessly recycled significant sections of the introduction to his book Crimes Against Humanity, which I found lazy.

Definitely a book I’d recommend, despite its flaws.

[Debbie Terranova · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book provides a history of human rights dating right back to the 17th Century, the real background to Geoffrey Robertson's treatise about how to stop human rights 'baddies' is the torture and death of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian tax expert murdered by his own government for exposing fraud and corruption. Magnitsky's story - and it is well worth knowing - is told in detail by former client, supporter, and fellow target, Bill Browden, in his book 'Red Notice'. Human rights lawyer, Geoffrey Robertson, became involved in Browden's quest for justice. Since, several countries, including the US, the EU (in December 2020), and the UK have passed 'Magnitsky laws', which 'name and shame' tyrants who perpetrate these crimes against humanity when the usual forms of justice fail. Australia is currently considering the form its 'Magnitsky law' will take. Robertson's book is not easy to fully absorb. Many of the names and events will not be well-known to the general public. However it is well worth a read. Its currency -Robertson covers human rights developments up to March 2021 - is noteworthy. While the subject matter is weighty, his droll humour sometimes raises a smile.

[Igor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking and informative

[Greg Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

compelling argument for Magnitzky Laws - in every country; well-written and accessible by laypeople as well as lawyers; very timely