Sir Malcolm David Evans, (born 1959) is an English legal scholar. He is currently Principal of

Regent's Park College, Oxford Regent's Park College (known colloquially within the university as Regent's) is a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford, situated in central Oxford, just off St Giles', Oxford, St Giles'. Founded in 1810, the college moved to it ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and started in 2023.

Biography

Until 2023 Evans was

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

Public International Law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

. He has worked extensively on human rights issues for numerous international bodies and NGOs. His research interests include the law of the sea and the international protection of

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

, with particular focus on the

freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...

(for which he was knighted in 2015) and the prevention of torture. He studied law at

(1979–82 and 1983–87) primarily for undergraduate and then for doctorate. He was appointed to a lectureship at the

in 1988 and in 1999 was appointed Professor of

. He was Head of the School of Law 2003-05 before becoming

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the Faculty of

Social Sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...

and Law from xxxx-yyyy. In 2012 he was awarded an honorary fellowship by Bangor University Law School. He is a member of the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

Advisory Panel on Freedom of Religion and Belief; the

International Law Association The International Law Association (ILA) is a non-profit organisation based in Great Britain that — according to its constitution — promotes "the study, clarification and development of international law" and "the furtherance of international ...

Human Rights Law and Practice Committee; and the Board of Management of the

Association for the Prevention of Torture The Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) is an international non-governmental organization focused on preventing of torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The organization was founded in 1977 by Jean-Jacques Ga ...

. Among his many roles, Sir Malcolm has served as a member and, from 2011-2020 Evans chair of the United Nations Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture. In 2015 Evans was appointed as a member of the reconstituted panel of the

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales was an inquiry examining how the country's institutions handled their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse. It was announced by the British Home Secretary ...

. He was appointed

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(KCMG) in the

2016 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2016 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to torture prevention and religious freedom. In June 2022 he was named as the new Principal of his former

Permanent Private Hall A permanent private hall (PPH) in the University of Oxford is an educational institution within the university. There are five permanent private halls at Oxford, four of which admit undergraduates. They were founded by different Christian denomina ...

Works

Research Projects

Evaluation of the effectiveness of the national institutions under the optional protocol to the UN Convention on torture

From June 2006 to June 2009 Professor Rachel Murray held a high profile AHRC funded project which examined the implementation of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture. Professor Malcolm Evans was the joint grant holderThe culmination of the project was the publication of the book The Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture by the Oxford University Press. Over the three years of the project, there were some 150 interviews conducted with individuals from national governments, NHRIs, national NGOs and civil society organisations of nearly 30 countries. All the world regions were covered, selecting countries that have ratified OPCAT and already had established or were in the process of establishing their NPMs.

The changing nature of religious rights in International law

Books

* * * * *

External links

Malcolm Evans, 'The blind eye of the law', ''The Guardian'' (Friday 13 August 2004)

References

Alumni of Regent's Park College, Oxford Academics of the University of Bristol English legal scholars English legal writers English legal professionals English human rights activists Law of the sea 1959 births Living people Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Officers of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Institut de Droit International {{UK-law-bio-stub