CBA Lecture: Recent developments in the law governing sexual offences

Tuesday 24th March 2026

18.00 – 19.00

Online

Introduction: Paul Jarvis KC, Chair, CBA Education Committee
Speakers: HH Peter Rook KC and Robert Ward CBE KC (Hon)

The Criminal Bar Association is pleased to host a lecture on Recent developments in the law governing sexual offences, delivered by HH Peter Rook KC and Robert Ward CBE KC (Hon). Both speakers bring exceptional experience to this important and evolving area of criminal law. Their work as co-authors of the leading practitioner text Rook and Ward on Sexual Offences has long made them central figures in the development and understanding of this field.

The session will consider recent developments in the law governing sexual offences, drawing on the speakers’ extensive experience in practice, judicial work and legal scholarship. With the seventh edition of Rook and Ward on Sexual Offences published in December 2025, this lecture offers a timely opportunity to reflect on current developments and the practical implications for those practising in this area.

Speakers

HH Peter Rook KC is a former head of Red Lion Chambers and a former Chair of the Criminal Bar Association. In 2005 he was appointed a Senior Circuit Judge and sat at the Old Bailey for twelve years. He retired as a full time judge in March 2017 and became a judicial coroner. He chaired the committee that devised the College of Advocacy’s course Advocacy and the Vulnerable. In 2020 he became Vice Chair of the Parole Board for England and Wales, retiring in December 2025. He is the co-author of Rook and Ward on Sexual Offences, the seventh edition of which was published in December 2025.

Robert Ward CBE KC (Hon) is a barrister and Commissioner of the Criminal Cases Review Commission. He was formerly a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and previously led the legal branch of the Ministry of Defence. In 2015 he was made an Honorary QC in recognition of his legal work. He is also the co-author of Rook and Ward on Sexual Offences.

Event Details

Date: Tuesday, 24th March 2026
Time: 18.00hrs – 19.00hrs (60 minutes)
Format: Online lecture
Recording: A full recording will be available within a fortnight of the event.

The access link will be circulated at 14.00hrs on the day of the talk.