Marcel Berlins (30 October 1941 – 31 July 2019) was a French-born lawyer, legal commentator, author, broadcaster and columnist.
[4][5] Berlins studied law at the University of the Witwatersrand and spent his early career in the courts in Johannesburg.
[1] The worsening political situation in South Africa saw Berlins move firstly to Paris, and then to London to avoid French military service.
[1] In one of his last articles for The Guardian, Berlins wrote of the impact on him of Orson Welles’s portrayal of Clarence Darrow, the American lawyer who defended two high-profile murderers facing the death penalty in 1924, which had inspired his interest in justice and the law.
Their jointly-authored play, Best of Motives (2002), considered the unintended impact of anti-terrorism legislation, passed after the September 11 attacks.
Dr Paul Lashmar of the Department of Journalism at City, University of London, said: "Marcel really was a brilliant commentator on the law.