Inaugural Lecture with Professor Satvinder Juss: The Execution of Bhagat Singh

Professor Satvinder Juss will base his inaugural lecture on 2021 book, The Execution of Bhagat Singh, which has been extensively reviewed in India.

In the words of The Hindustan Times, “The Execution of Bhagat Singh gives fresh insights into the use of colonial power. Full of engrossing details from previously unpublished original archival material, including hand written documents translated here for the first time, offers a fresh look at the enduring legacy of the revolutionary and the lessons it holds for today.” For The Tribune, it was a “detailed and scholarly work” and “an essential read.” The Telegraph, explained that, “What distinguishes Juss’s book... is his meticulous and painstaking research on the legal trial, the result of which is probably one of the most comprehensive works on the subject. Juss also relies on archives in Pakistan and various previously unpublished documents that add to the richness of his research.” It commented on how, “Juss, who teaches law at Kings College London, produced 160 case files for the first time. Juss got that access as a British scholar, and made liberal use of the resources.” The Times of India summed it all up when it wrote, “After a law professor of London got access to 160 Bhagat Singh case files at Lahore in Pakistan for his book, the demand has been raised from Punjab [in India] to see those papers of historical importance.” The book was followed up more recently by 'Bhagat Singh: A Life in Revolution '(Penguin 2022), which is currently being translated into Hindi.

Professor Juss is a human rights expert focusing on policy-oriented work. He contributed as a renowned expert at the invitation of the Home Affairs Committee to a pioneering seminar on Human Trafficking at the Houses of Parliament on 14 May 2009, which brought together the Chairs of all the Home Affairs Committees in Europe, in a new initiative to harmonise standards and procedures in this field. He was also Consultant in April 2009 to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in a programme funded by the British Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, on issues of expulsion, re-admission and voluntary return of migrants. In 2010, he advised the Government of Bermuda on legislation.

Professor Juss has been involved in, and given policy speeches for, various think-tanks, including the Royal Society of Arts, Encounter, and the Rowntree Trust. He regularly appears as a practicising Barrister in the High Court and the Court of Appeal and is listed as a "Legal Expert" in the Directory of Legal Experts, He has also argued cases in the House of Lords and the Privy Council. He was counsel in the foreign marriages case (involving Art. 12 right to marry) and in the 'funeral pyres' case (involving Art. 9 right to religious freedom) and sits as a part-time Judge. Professor Juss has taught at a number of Universities in the UK and the USA, including Harvard Law School and Indiana University in Bloomington. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and its Council Member, and is a member of its Migration Commission, which published its ground-breaking Report, “Migration: A Welcome Opportunity” in November 2005. He is a Council member of Encounter, and of the Society of Legal Scholars. In 2010 his name was added to the Panel of the Arbitrators of the Indian Council for Arbitration. Professor Juss seeks to incorporate the role of scholar, practitioner, and activist in all the various fields of his expertise. He is currently instructed as Counsel in the Rwanda appeals before the UK Supreme Court.