Sir Sydney Kentridge

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Society & Culture, Music Commentary, Music, Personal Journals

4.4 • 13.7K Ratings

🗓️ 31 March 2013

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Sir Sydney Kentridge QC.

Widely regarded as a leading advocate of the 20th century, he continues to make his mark in the 21st; he recently appeared for the first time in the European Court of Justice and at the end of last year he spent the actual day of his 90th birthday working in the English Supreme Court.

Born in South Africa, he was first called to the bar there at the end of the 1940s and played a leading role in some of the most significant political trials of the apartheid era. 'Understated, controlled, relentlessly rational' - and with devastating cross-examination skills - the verdict of one of his clients - Nelson Mandela.

He himself says "I hope there's only one thing about my professional life of which I've boasted and which I think, as a lawyer, is unique on my part - I have acted as an advocate for three winners of The Nobel Peace Prize. I don't think anyone else has done that."

Producer: Isabel Sargent.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, I'm Kirstie Young. Thank you for downloading this podcast of Desert Island Disks from BBC Radio 4.
0:06.0	For rights reasons, the music choices are shorter than in the radio broadcast.
0:10.0	For more information about the program, please visit BBC.co.uk.
0:17.0	Radio 4. My customers My cast away this week is Sir Sidney Kentridge, QC.
0:38.0	Widely regarded as a leading advocate of the 20th century, he continues to make his mark in the 21st. He recently
0:45.3	appeared for the first time in the European Court of Justice and at the end of last year
0:49.1	he spent the actual day of his 90th birthday working in the English Supreme Court.
0:55.0	South African born, he was first called to the bar there at the end of the 40s and played a
0:59.9	leading role in some of the most significant political trials of the apartheid era.
1:05.0	Understated, controlled, relentlessly rational and with devastating cross-examination skills,
1:10.0	the verdict of one of his clients, Nelson Mandela.
1:13.0	He himself says,
1:15.0	I hope there's only one thing about my professional life
1:18.0	of which I've boasted, and which I think as a lawyer is unique on my part.
1:22.0	I've acted as an advocate for three winners of the
1:25.2	Nobel Peace Prize. I don't think anyone else has done that. I don't think they have,
1:29.3	so Sidney. Remind us then of who the three Nobel Peace Prize winners are that you've acted on behalf of.
1:35.0	Well of course they were all South Africans.
1:37.5	The first one was Chief Albert Lattooli, a wonderful man who was in the 50s and early 60s the President of the African National
1:48.6	Congress. The second was Nelson Mandela himself.
1:53.0	I acted for him in treason trial
1:56.0	where the leaders of the African National Congress
	...

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