Derek Spitz

Derek Spitz is a barrister at One Essex Court chambers, a scholar and an author.

He is an author and co-editor of Constitutional Law of South Africa (Juta 1996), a leading work in the field.

He contributed to Responses to 7 October (Routledge 2024) and has written several scholarly articles and book reviews on contemporary antisemitism for the Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism and Fathom. He is currently working on a book on the ideology of Settler Colonialism.

In addition to his commercial and competition law practice, Derek advises and acts in cases concerning antisemitism and antizionism, including acting for the initiating complainant, Campaign Against Antisemitism, in the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Investigation into antisemitism in the Labour Party, and in the subsequent judicial review brought by Ken Livingstone.

Derek holds a BA (Honours) LLB from the University of the Witwatersrand, an MA in English Literature from Cornell University and a Juris Doctor from Columbia University. He is on the Board of Governors of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism and is a trustee of the LCSCA.