Supreme Court Judge of the Civil Cassation Court elected an Honorary Bencher of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple

By a unanimous decision of the Benchers of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, Judge of the Supreme Court at the Civil Cassation Court, Yevhen Synelnykov, has been elected an Honorary Bencher (member) of the legal community.

This was announced in a congratulatory letter dated 11 December 2025 by the Treasurer (President) of the Middle Temple, the Honourable Judge of the High Court of England and Wales Dame Kathryn Thirlwall, DBE.

It should be noted that the title of Honorary Bencher represents an exceptional recognition of a person’s merits. This person is often a top-level judge (including a foreign judge); an outstanding lawyer; a legal scholar; a senior official in the field of justice.

For foreigners (including judges of supreme courts of other countries), this is the highest distinction that the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple can confer.

In the British legal tradition, being elected as a Bencher means being recognised as part of the legal elite. For a non-British lawyer, it is: 

a symbol of international recognition of professional authority;

a mark of trust and respect from an ancient institution (the Middle Temple was founded in the 14th century);

an analogue of honorary membership in academies or orders, but specifically within the legal world.

This is neither a formal nor a mass title, but a personal invitation “into the circle of the Bench”. Yevhen Synelnykov is the first Ukrainian judge to be honoured with honorary membership of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple.

The procedure for electing Benchers includes: nomination by existing Benchers (the candidate does not submit an application and does not undergo a competitive selection process in the usual sense); a thorough review of the candidate’s professional biography, reputation, contribution to the development of law, and international standing; a vote on the candidate (traditionally unanimous); and formal election (an admission ceremony).

Today, the Middle Temple has approximately 520 ordinary Benchers and 170 Honorary Benchers.

By way of reminder, the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple is one of the four Inns of Court in London – legal institutions with the authority to admit barristers of England and Wales. The other three are Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn. The history of the Middle Temple dates back to the Middle Ages on lands and in buildings that belonged to the Order of the Knights Templar, and from the 14th century to the Knights Hospitaller. As a legal non-profit corporation, the Middle Temple has operated since the 14th century and uses symbols (a red cross on a white background and a lamb) associated with the Knights Templar. The first performance of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night in 1602 took place on the premises of the Middle Temple. The institution’s primary function is the education and training of barristers.