One minute with... Jonathan Schwarz

How did you end up in tax?

At law school in South Africa I had the choice between a second year of Roman law and taxation (the first time tax had been offered at a law school there). By process of elimination I chose taxation! After the exam my professor Louise Tager said I was one of only two who really understood the course.

My wider interest in law is public international law and public law – the relationships between the citizen and the state and among states. Growing up in apartheid South Africa this shaped my belief that international legal norms offer solutions to the inappropriate use of state power.

Who in law do you most admire?

My father Harry Schwarz (among other things one of the defense counsel in the Rivonia Trial) and Professor John Dugard who instilled an absolute...