World of War Crimes: Eyeless in Gaza… and Beyond

by Geoffrey Robertson

Every day, we are exposed to evidence of hundreds of war residential buildings bombed and burning in Ukraine, merciless shootings in Gaza despite a so-called ceasefire, civilians beaten and starved by armies in Sudan and a mounting number of aid workers and journalists murdered by soldiers. The evidence proves guilt beyond reasonable doubt, but we know there will be few, if any, prosecutions.

In this powerful book, distinguished human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson exposes the 'fraud' that is international humanitarian law. Drawing on his experience as a UN war crimes judge, he considers some of the most pressing legal issues of our time, including torture, nuclear weapons, drone warfare and the fallacy of 'anticipatory self-defence'. In the face of such threats, and with an impotent Security Council neutered by the world's most powerful aggressors, modern democracies are increasingly vulnerable to conflict and invasion.

Most importantly in an age of amoral warlords like Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump, the book warns that we are losing sight of Nuremberg's that there can be no peace without justice. This authoritative and deeply humane work is both a rallying defence of moral law and a resounding condemnation of those who defy it.

265 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 27, 2025

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

[Paul-Marie Beau · Rating 5 out of 5]

What makes World of War Crimes great is that Robertson does not just create a comprehensive collection of facts, he also provides reasonable solutions to address some of the significant loopholes that exist today.

While the book can come across as repetitive at times, this helps drive the point home. One can only hope that someone eventually decides to act on it.

One shortfall I see in this book is Robertson’s assumption that all soldiers fighting on the aggressor side of a conflict must inherently know they are fighting an illegal war, and that continuing to fight makes them accomplices to the crime. This comes across as naive. It is reasonable to expect that heavy propaganda and a lack of free press may lead many of these soldiers to genuinely believe they are fighting on the 'right' side of the conflict (assuming that they are not committing war crimes themselves).

This book is a great read, and, in substance, reminded me of Why Nations Fail.

[Marie Belcredi · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent way to review of the development of the laws of warfare from Nuremberg to now. I had some quite naive ideas about this thinking that everything had been done and dusted after Nuremberg but nothing could be further from the case. As Robertson says "Nuremberg was a victor's justice". Good for punishing the losers but not so much that it would reflect on them. The "tu quoque" principle meant that they could not codify into law or prosecute Göring for the Blitz on London because they could then be liable for the same charge for bombing civilians in Dresden and Tokyo.
So the UN Security Council is useless and was designed to be this way so that it could never be turned on the victors. Even the ICC which is not a UN instrument cannot try anyone for aggression (eg Putin) because it does not have that jurisdiction. Even if the there has been a clear war crime or even a civil crime (eg attacking a Venezuelan boat in the Caribbean), the big 5 powers do not care. Might is still right. Robertson suggests a coalition of democratic countries that would take charge of law enforcement.
He finishes the book with principles of justice and how the current loopholes in international law need to be closed. He makes an appeal that even if this has been seems to be flouted at every turn by war criminals like Putin, Netanyahu and Trump that the push for international justice should not be abandoned but must be pursued.

[Marc Ornelas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A startling illustration of the sheer incompetence and utter lack of power in prosecuting war crimes by the UN securities council.

To elaborate, as explained in the book, the UN general assembly can make proposals to the UN Security Council, comprised of the 5 major world powers, France, Russia, China, the UK and US, who then possess the ability to ultimately veto any decision. If the UN wants to investigate Putin and Russia for war crimes, it can simply veto the proposal.

I learnt a great deal from this book regarding international humanitarian law but it oftentimes felt quite repetitive.

[Benjamin Crowley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very insightful review into the failures of the international community (legal and political) leading to tragedies across the world.

Having previously read Geoffrey Robertson KC's more substantial book Crimes Against Humanity, this book is more of a high-level summary (as conceded at the beginning of the book).

The book is an easy read but at times, unfortunately, quite repetitive.

[Mohammad Hijazi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. People may perceived the repetitive nature of the book negatively. However, I thought it to be perfect, as it really allowed the specific points Robertson made to stick into my head. His critique of Trump is obviously relevant and continues to be true as the president has just as I'm typing has broken more international laws 🙄 I recommend this to everyone. it's an eye-opener

[Will Fernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and timely book, although sometimes repeats itself within a few pages.