Professor Malcolm Evans of the University of Bristol Law School has been appointed as one of four members of the reformed independent inquiry into child abuse.  The panel which will be led by the New Zealand judge, Lowell Goddard, has been set up by the Home Secretary, Theresa May, and placed on a statutory footing, allowing the panel to "compel witnesses to determine whether state and non-state institutions have taken seriously their duty of care to children”.  Professor Evans is also chair of the United Nations Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture.