Professor Yvonne McDermott Rees

Research Highlights

1. McDermott Rees, Y. & Giannoulopoulos, D. (Eds.). (2022). Judicial Independence Under Threat. Oxford University Press.

   SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa61379

   https://global.oup.com/academic/product/judicial-independence-under-threat-9780197267035?lang=en&cc=lb#
2. Murray, D., McDermott Rees, Y., & Koenig, K. (2022). Mapping the Use of Open Source Research in UN Human Rights Investigations. Journal of Human Rights Practice, 14(2), 554-581.

   https://doi.org/10.1093/jhuman/huab059, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa58947
3. McDermott Rees, Y., Koenig, A., & Murray, D. (2021). Open Source Information’s Blind Spot. Journal of International Criminal Justice, 19(1), 85-105.

   https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqab006, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa56230
4. McDermott Rees, Y. & Schabas, W. (2021). Article 67: Right to a fair trial. In Kai Ambos; Otto Triffterer (Ed.), The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: A CommentaryHart/Beck

   SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa55195
5. McDermott Rees, Y. & Schabas, W. (n.d.) Article 66: Presumption of Innocence. In Kai Ambos; Otto Tristerer (Ed.), The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: A CommentaryHart/Beck

   SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa55194

All Research

• Gender-based Sexual Violence: Interactions between International Criminal Law and Domestic Criminal Law (current)

  PhD

  Other supervisor: Dr Val Aston

  Other supervisor: Dr Val Aston

• JUSTICE AT HOME, JUSTICE ABROAD: THE ACCOUNTABILITY EFFORTS RELATING TO THE CONFLICTS IN EASTERN UKRAINE, NORTHERN IRAQ AND SYRIA (current)

  PhD

  Other supervisor: Prof Rick Lines

• A Socio-Legal Intersectional Analysis of the Role of Technology in the Investigation of Conflict-Related Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (current)

  PhD

  Other supervisor: Prof Rick Lines

• Preventive ofences:A principled account of criminalisation [criminal liability] (current)

  PhD

  Other supervisor: Dr Patrick Bishop

• Judicial Liability in Comparative Perspective (awarded 2023)

  LLM

  Other supervisor: Dr Alex Latham-Gambi

  Other supervisor: Dr Tom Hannant

• LAAM12 Research Methods and Ethics

  In a world which is both increasingly driven by data and facing the challenges of mis/disinformation, whether specializing in Human Rights, cyber crime/security, terrorism or other global challenges, it is increasingly important to have a sound understanding of what, how and why research is carried out across these topic areas. Policy makers at international and national level, industry, law enforcement and third sector organisations, among others, all need civil society and employees which not only understand the substantive matters they tackle, but also have the skills to think critically about the evidence-base which informs decision making. This module focuses on introducing the skills necessary to effectively research these contemporary issues, and being able to assess, evaluate and communicate the strengths and limitations of different research methods and outputs, in a variety of contexts (e.g., the public, private or third sector economies). The module will seek to develop student understanding of research methods and ethics, enable students to evaluate research outputs. Throughout, it will encourage students to reflect on the application of research findings in developing law and policy in key areas including human rights, cyber crime and terrorism. Through this module, students will be equipped with the necessary critical and analytic skills to design, implement and disseminate the findings of a research project, as well as understand the characteristics of a good research proposal.

• Editorial Board Member, Criminal Law Forum journal

  2015 - Present

• Series Co-Editor, University of Wales series International Law

  2014 - Present

• Academic Fellow, Honourable Society of the Inner Temple

  2014 - Present

• OSR4Rights: Using Open Source Research to Transform the Discovery & Documentation of Human Rights Violations 2018 - 2020

  OSR4Rights examines how open source research is currently used in human rights investigations, and interrogates whether and how this evidence can be leveraged more systematically for the discovery and documentation of human rights violations in future, with Co-Is from Universities of California, Berkley; Essex; Manchester, and Heriot-Watt, Funded by the ESRC Transformative Research scheme (grant no. ES-R00899X), £243,026.

• Supporting the analysis of international criminal trials with artificial intelligence and data mining techniques 2017 - 2018

  This project examined how argumentation theory could be applied to factual findings in a complex trial judgment, to assist Appeals Chambers in determining the reasonableness of those findings, with Co-Is from Cardiff University; Stirling University; Royal College of Art, Supported by Cherish-DE, £5,000.

• Enhancing the Status of UN Treaty Rights in Domestic Settings 2017 - 2018

  This project analysed good practice examples of implementing UN human rights treaties around the globe. The resultant report has been used to inform the work of the EHRC, facilitating it to better work for implementation of human rights in the UK, with PI: Dr Aoife Daly, University of Liverpool, Co-I: Dr Joshua Curtis, University of Liverpool, Commissioned by the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission, £18,000.

• Challenges to Judicial Independence in Times of Crisis 2017 - 2019

  This British Academy conference, held in April 2018, placed contemporary challenges to judicial independence in their legal, philosophical, socio political, comparative and historical contexts, with Professor Dimitrios Giannoulopolous, Goldsmiths, University of London, Funded by the British Academy.

• Devolved Nations and International Law 2016 - 2017

  This seminar analysed the impact of devolution on the UK’s international legal practices, and the influence of international law over the UK’s devolved administrations, with Dr Hayley Roberts, Bangor University, Funded by the Socio-Legal Studies Association, Annual Seminar Competition, £2,600

• DATA-PSST!Debating and Assessing Transparency Arrangements – Privacy, Security, Surveillance, Trust 2014 - 2016

  This seminar series examined different aspects of transparency, especially how these affect privacy, security, sur/sous/veillance and trust, with Professor Vian Bakir, Bangor; Co-Is from Bangor, Sheffield, King’s College London, Cardiff, Funded by the ESRC, £30,365.

• A Taxonomy of Evidence before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia 2013 - 2014

  This project used mathematical methods and approaches to analyse the practices of proof in international criminal trials, Funded by a British Academy Quantitative Skills Acquisition Award, £9,983.

• Documenting Mass Human Rights Violations through Collective Intelligence 2019 - 2020

  This project examines whether machine learning can be combined with human expertise to identify and manage evidence that can be used in accountability processes for war crimes, with GLAN Law and Syrian Archive, funded by a Nesta Collective Intelligence Grant. £20,000