Sir Desmond Lorenz de Silva, QC, KStJ, (born 13 December 1939) is a prominent British lawyer, and former United Nations Chief War Crimes Prosecutor in Sierra Leone. The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem or Order of St John is a British -based royal order of Chivalry, and is Events 1294 - Saint Celestine V abdicates the papacy after only five months Celestine hoped to return to his previous life Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security War crimes are "violations of the laws or customs of war" including but not limited to "murder the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa.

Family background

Sir Desmond is of Sri Lankan and Anglo / Scottish origins and comes from a family of lawyers. He married HRH Princess Katarina Karadjordjevic of Yugoslavia on 5 December 1987. See also Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia ( Serbo-Croatian Events 63 BC - Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations. Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) They have one daughter, Victoria Marie Esmé Margarita, born on 6 September 1991. Events 3114 BC - According to the Proleptic Julian calendar the current era in the Maya Long Count Calendar started Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. ^[1] Sir Desmond has one sister Helga De Silva whose son, Detmar Blow, was married to the fashion icon Isabella Blow. Detmar Jellings Blow (1867 - 1939 was a British Architect of the early 20th century who designed principally in the arts and crafts style Fashion design is the Applied art dedicated to Clothing and lifestyle Accessories created within the cultural and social influences of a specific time Isabella Blow ( 19 November 1958 &ndash 7 May 2007) was an English magazine editor and international style icon [1]

Career

Sir Desmond was called to the Bar in the Middle Temple in London in 1964, and appointed Queens Counsel in 1984. The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as Barristers London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. Queen's Counsel ( postnominal QC) &ndash known as King's Counsel ( KC) during the reign of a male sovereign  &ndash are Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) His Chambers are at 2 Paper Buildings in London and include six QCs and fifty one junior counsel. Sir Desmond is a member of the Criminal Bar Association and the International Association of Prosecutors. In 2002, the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed him as Deputy Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Sierra Leone, at rank of Assistant Secretary-General. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. See also General Secretary. A number of International organizations, Communist parties and other bodies use the title Secretary Kofi Atta Annan, GCMG (born 8 April 1938 is a Ghanaian Diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the Common law Adversarial system, or the civil law Annan later promoted Sir Desmond to the post of Chief Prosecutor with higher rank of Under Secretary-General in 2005. An Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations ( USG) is a senior Official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He brought about the arrest of Charles Taylor, the former President of Liberia, who currently is on trial at the Hague.

In 1985 Sir Desmond was sent as an envoy by the United Nations Development Programme to persuade Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and his government to surrender indicted war criminals and to fulfil Serbias obligation to the international community. [2]

Sir Desmond’s breadth of legal expertise includes War Crimes, Espionage Trials, Treason, Drugs, Terrorism, Human Rights, White Collar Fraud and Sports law. His clients have included , Harry Redknapp, John Terry, Ron Atkinson, Hans Segers, Lawrence Dallaglio, Graham Rix, Lee Bowyer, Jamie Osborne and Jaqui Oliver [3]. He is also a member of the Governing Council of the Manorial Society. [4]

Honours

Sir Desmond was knighted in the British New Years Honours List of 2007, and is also a Knight of the British Most Venerable Order of Saint John, and a Knight Commander of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George[5], in its Royal Order of Francis I. The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals' personal bravery achievement or service to the United Kingdom. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Knight is the English term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem or Order of St John is a British -based royal order of Chivalry, and is According to its official tradition the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George is the oldest international Roman Catholic Order of chivalry; in reality Francis I may refer to Francis I Duke of Brittany (1414-1450 reigned 1442-1450 Francis I Duke of Lorraine (1517–1545 reigned

References

1. ^ Blood Royal - From the time of Alexander the Great to Queen Elizabeth II, by Charles Mosley, published for Ruvigny Ltd. , London, 2002 (page 288) (ISBN 0-9524229-9-9)