Ben Keith of 5 St Andrew’s Hill and Rhys Davies of Temple Garden Chambers have been shortlisted for International Pro Bono Barrister of the Year at the 2026 Bar Pro Bono Awards, organised by Advocate, the pro bono charity of the Bar of England and Wales.
Ben and Rhys won the same award jointly in 2021. In 2025 they were shortlisted for the International Bar Association Pro Bono Award, one of only seven candidates globally.
Over the past year, they have secured a landmark ruling at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Kalinga v Uganda (Communication 376/09), in which the Commission found Uganda responsible for the torture and secret detention of Acléo Kalinga, a Rwandan refugee abducted by Ugandan security forces. They have also obtained a finding from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that British national Charles Ridley has been arbitrarily detained in the UAE for 17 years. They continue to represent human rights defenders and journalists subject to INTERPOL Red Notices issued by states seeking to extend their repression beyond their own borders.
The ceremony takes place on 19 May 2026 at Inner Temple.
The full shortlist is available on the Advocate website here.
Ben Keith is a leading barrister specialising in cross-border and international cases. He deals with all aspects of extradition, immigration, human rights, mutual legal assistance, Interpol, financial crime and international law, including sanctions. He represents governments, political and military leaders, high net worth individuals, human rights defenders and business leaders in the most sensitive cases. He is a leading authority on the removal of Interpol Red Notices for worldwide clients. He edits the Red Notice Monitor blog.
Ben has extensive experience of appellate proceedings before the Administrative and Divisional Courts, Civil and Criminal Divisions of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court as well as applications and appeals to the European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations.
Ben has significant expertise in post-soviet states, as well the Middle East and the Far East.
He is ranked in Chambers and Partners as a star leader in the field of extradition at the London Bar and in The Legal 500 as a Tier 1 leading individual in extradition. Ben is also ranked in Chambers and Partners in the field of immigration and in its Financial Crime: High Net Worth Individuals rankings. He is recognised in The Spears’ 500 2024 Guide as a ‘Recommended Immigration Law Barrister’.
Rhys Davies is a barrister at Temple Garden Chambers specialising in international criminal and human rights law. He is based in London and The Hague, acting in high-profile matters involving international tribunals, UN bodies, and Interpol, alongside a domestic practice in civil fraud and insurance. He is particularly noted for complex cross-border cases and pro bono work on behalf of detainees abroad, and was named International Pro Bono Barrister of the Year in 2021.
