Free Country - by Sydney Kentridge (Hardcover)

About the Book

Sydney Kentridge QC is admired as an outstanding lawyer and, during the apartheid years in South Africa, a courageous defender of the individual against an oppressive state. This collection includes memorable and often moving accounts of his experiences.

Book Synopsis

For decades Sydney Kentridge QC has been admired as a brilliant advocate, an outstanding lawyer and, during the apartheid years in South Africa, a courageous defender of the individual against an oppressive state. His advocacy at the inquest of Steve Biko came to the attention of a wider audience when he was portrayed on stage and screen by Albert Finney. He has since pursued a second, equally celebrated career as a barrister in England. In 1999 he was knighted 'for services to international law and justice'.

This selection from his lectures and talks includes memorable and often moving accounts of Sydney's experiences as an advocate practising in South Africa under a legal system which not merely permitted racial discrimination but required it and in which, for political cases, many of the protections essential to a fair trial had been abolished. Wider topics addressed include the ethics of advocacy, freedom of speech, the rule of law and the selection of judges. Two themes that run through this book are an acute sense of the fragility of the rights and values that define a free country and, at the same time, an intense appreciation of just how much such rights and freedoms, which we may sometimes take for granted, really matter.


"One of the great pleasures of this collection is that the author's voice and personality, including his understated sense of humour, are evident throughout. His is not just the voice of a great advocate; it is also wise and humane."
From the Foreword by David Lloyd Jones and George Leggatt

Review Quotes

The same quiet, reasoned and compelling qualities that have made Sir Sydney such an outstanding advocate are to be found in this book. Drawing on fascinating personal experience and historical references, what he has to say about the roles and duties of lawyers and judges, the ethics and obligations of advocates, the selection of judges, freedom of speech, civil liberties, the rule of law and a host of related issues, transcend the years. This slim and immensely readable volume, written without any hint of pomposity, is a real gem.
The Middle Templar

About the Author

Sir Sydney Kentridge KCMG, KC is a prominent South African lawyer and member of the English Bar. He played a leading role in a number of the most significant political trials in apartheid-era South Africa, including the Stephen Biko inquest in 1977. He is a member of Brick Court Chambers.