Pictured: Professor McDermott Rees meets HRH Anne, The Princess Royal KG KT GCVO QSO, Royal Bencher of the Inner Temple.
Also pictured: Professor Gillian Triggs, Assistant Secretary-General, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Academic Bencher; Sir Robert Francis KC, Treasurer of the Inner Temple; The Honourable Mr Justice Constable KC, Governing Bencher.
Picture credit: Miranda Parry.
Professor Yvonne McDermott Rees, a Swansea University academic specialising in international criminal law and procedure, human rights, and the law of evidence, has been elected as Academic Bencher of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple.
This honour is conveyed on distinguished academics whose work contributes to the study of law and disciplines relevant to the education of future legal practitioners. Benchers hold office for life once elected, and are expected to contribute to the governance and education and training activities of the Inn.
The Inner Temple is one of the four Inns of Court in London which hold the exclusive right to call students to practise law at the Bar of England and Wales. The Inner Temple has existed since the 14th century, and prides itself on its global membership that is ever progressive in strengthening and promoting the rule of law and a vibrant, diverse, legal community.
Speaking of her appointment, Professor McDermott Rees said:
“It is a great honour and a privilege to have been elected as Master of the Bench of the Inner Temple. I was delighted to have been appointed as Academic Fellow of the Inner Temple in 2014, and in the intervening years, I have maintained a close relationship with the Inn, including through guest lectures; outreach and widening access activities, and a British Academy conference on Judicial Independence in Times of Crisis in 2018. I am looking forward to continuing to develop strong links between Swansea students and the Inner Temple for many years to come.”
Yvonne McDermott Rees has worked at the Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law since 2017. She currently leads TRUE, a £1.2 million multidisciplinary project selected for funding by the European Research Council and funded by UKRI, which explores the impact of deepfakes and related AI developments on trust in user-generated evidence. The TRUE project and the Inner Temple will co-host a conference, New Frontiers: Open Source Evidence at the Inner Temple and online on 25 November 2023.