The Right Honourable
The Baroness Hale of Richmond
DBE PC FBA
Hale in 2017
President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
In office
5 September 2017 – 11 January 2020
Nominated byDavid Lidington
Appointed byElizabeth II
Deputy
Preceded byThe Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury
Succeeded byThe Lord Reed of Allermuir
Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
In office
28 June 2013 – 4 September 2017
Nominated byChris Grayling
PresidentThe Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury
Preceded byThe Lord Hope of Craighead
Succeeded byThe Lord Mance
Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
In office
1 October 2009 – 28 June 2013
Preceded byOffice created
Succeeded byLord Hamblen of Kersey
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
In office
12 January 2004 – 30 September 2009
Preceded byThe Lord Millett
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Lady Justice of Appeal
In office
1999–2003
High Court Judge
In office
1994–1999
Appointed byElizabeth II
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Assumed office
12 January 2004
Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong
In office
30 July 2018 – 29 July 2021
Appointed byCarrie Lam
Personal details
Born
Brenda Marjorie Hale

(1945-01-31) 31 January 1945
Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Spouses
  • John Hoggett
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1968; div. 1992)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1992; died 2020)​
Children1
Alma materGirton College, Cambridge
Chinese name
Chinese何熙怡

Brenda Marjorie Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond, DBE, PC, FBA (born 31 January 1945), is a British judge who served as President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2017 until her retirement in 2020.[1]

In 2004, she joined the House of Lords as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. She is the only woman to have been appointed to that position. She served as a Law Lord until 2009 when she, along with the other Law Lords, transferred to the new Supreme Court as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. She served as Deputy President of the Supreme Court from 2013 to 2017.

On 5 September 2017, Hale was appointed under the premiership of Theresa May to serve as President of the Supreme Court, and was sworn in on 2 October 2017. She was the third person and first woman to serve in the role. Hale is one of four women to have been appointed to the Supreme Court (alongside Lady Black, Lady Arden and Lady Rose).

Hale became a non-permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong in 2018. In June 2021, she announced her decision not to seek reappointment on the Hong Kong court after the end of her term in July, mentioning the impact of the controversial Hong Kong national security law.[2] She was the first senior British judge to withdraw from Hong Kong's top court after the enactment of the security law in 2020.

In 2019, Hale was appointed an Honorary Professor of Law at University College London. Hale has also been Honorary President of the Cambridge University Law Society since 2015.[3]

On 11 January 2020, Lady Hale was succeeded by Lord Reed as President of the Supreme Court.[4] In 2021, Hale became an honorary fellow of Mansfield College, Oxford.[5]

Early life

Brenda Marjorie Hale[6] was born on 31 January 1945 in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire. Both her parents were headteachers. She has two sisters. Hale lived in Redcar until the age of three when she moved with her parents to Richmond, North Yorkshire. She was educated at the Richmond High School for Girls (now part of Richmond School), where she and her two sisters were all head girls.[7] She later studied at Girton College, Cambridge (the first from her school to attend Cambridge), where she read law. Hale was one of six women in her class, which had 110 men, and graduated with a starred first and top of her class in 1966.[8][9]

After becoming an assistant law lecturer at the Victoria University of Manchester (now the University of Manchester) in 1966 and lecturer in 1968, she was called to the Bar by Gray's Inn in 1969, topping the list in the bar finals for that year.[8][9][10]

Working part-time as a barrister, Hale spent 18 years mostly in academia, becoming Reader in 1981 and Professor of Law at Manchester in 1986.[10] Two years earlier, she became the first woman and youngest person to be appointed to the Law Commission, overseeing a number of important reforms[11] in family law during her nine years with the commission. In 1989, she was appointed Queen's Counsel.[8]

Judicial career

Hale was appointed a recorder (a part-time circuit judge) in 1989, and in 1994 became a judge in the Family Division of the High Court of Justice (styled The Honourable Mrs Justice Hale).[8] Upon her appointment, as is convention, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). In 1999, Hale followed Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss to become only the second woman to be appointed to the Court of Appeal (styled The Right Honourable Lady Justice Hale), entering the Privy Council at the same time.[12]

On 12 January 2004, she was appointed the first female Lord of Appeal in Ordinary and was created a life peer as Baroness Hale of Richmond, of Easby in the County of North Yorkshire.[13][14]

In June 2013, she was appointed Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to succeed Lord Hope of Craighead.[14] In July 2017, she was appointed to be the next President of the Supreme Court, succeeding Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury.[15] She took office in September 2017.[16]

In December 2018, during an interview to mark the centenary of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919, Lady Hale argued that the judiciary needed to become more diverse so that the public have greater confidence in judges. Hale called for a more balanced gender representation on the UK's highest court and swifter progress promoting those from minority ethnic backgrounds and with "less privileged lives". However, Hale objected to the idea of positive discrimination because "no one wants to feel they have got the job in any way other than on their own merits".[17]

In September 2019, Prime Minister Boris Johnson prorogued Parliament over Brexit. As President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Lady Hale found that Johnson's prorogation was unlawful, terminating the suspension of Parliament.[18] Hale described the ruling as "a source of, not pride, but satisfaction."[19] In 2020, reaching the mandatory retirement age, Hale retired from the court.[20]

Hong Kong judgeship

On 21 March 2018, the Hong Kong judiciary announced her nomination as a non-permanent judge from other common law jurisdictions of the Court of Final Appeal. Her appointment was accompanied by the appointments of Andrew Cheung and Beverley McLachlin.[21] The appointment was gazetted by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong Carrie Lam and took effect 30 July 2018 for a three-year term.[22]

In October 2020, after China imposing a controversial national security law on Hong Kong, Hale expressed her concerns about hearing cases in Hong Kong: "I have never sat and it has not been arranged at least for me to sit . . . when that happened I would have a serious moral question to ask myself."[23]

In June 2021, she revealed her wish of not wanting to be reappointed as a judge in Hong Kong after her three-year term ending in July. As she was making her decision known before a webinar, she also mentioned the impact of the security law and said, 'The jury is out on how they will be able to operate the new national security law. There are all sorts of question marks up in the air.'[24] However, the Hong Kong Judiciary claimed that her leaving was for personal reasons.[25][26]

Hale became the first senior British judge to quit Hong Kong's top court after her fellow judge, Australian James Spigelman resigned as a Hong Kong judge in November 2020.[27]

House of Lords

Hale became a member of the House of Lords following her appointment as a law lord,[13] and was introduced to the Lords on 12 January 2004.[28]

In September 2023, Hale was identified by The Guardian as one of eleven peers who had not sworn or affirmed the oath of allegiance to King Charles III and could not sit or vote in the House of Lords until they had done so.[29] Describing her appointment as a law lord, Hale stated: "I do not accept that I have neglected any 'duties' because I was not appointed as a parliamentarian", and planned to "play a modest part" in the Lords, having retired from judicial office.[29] She made her maiden speech on 23 November 2023, citing "the disruption caused by Covid and [her] own diffidence about whether [she] could make a useful contribution" for not having participated in parliamentary debates since her retirement as a judge.[30]

Significant lectures

On 27 June 2011, Lady Hale gave a lecture in memory of Sir Henry Hodge, "Equal Access to Justice in the Big Society" in which she explains the benefits of an inquisitorial Tribunal system over adversarial proceedings.[31]

On 10 September 2015, Hale delivered the Caldwell Public Lecture at the University of Melbourne, Australia, on the topic "Protecting Human Rights in the UK Courts: What are we doing wrong?".[32]

On 2 November 2018, Hale delivered an SLS Centenary Lecture at the University of Essex, United Kingdom, on the topic of "All Human Beings? Reflection on the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights".

On 7 March 2019, Hale delivered the University of Cambridge Freshfields law lecture, which she entitled "Principle and Pragmatism in Developing Private Law".[33]

In a 2019 Girton College lecture entitled "100 Years of Women in Law",[34][35] Hale described the "Brenda Agenda" (a neologism coined by her Supreme Court colleague Lord Hope) as "quite simply, the belief that women are equal to men and should enjoy the same rights and freedoms that they do; but that women's lives are necessarily sometimes different from men's and the experience of leading those lives is just as valid and important in shaping the law as is the experience of men's lives."[36]

Honours

Commonwealth honours

Country Date Appointment Post-nominal letters
 United Kingdom1989 – PresentQueen's Counsel (1989- 8 September 2022) / King's Counsel (since 8 September 2022QC / KC
 United Kingdom1994 – PresentDame Commander of the Order of the British EmpireDBE
 United Kingdom1999 – PresentMember of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council (1999- 8 September 2022) / Member of His Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council (since 8 September 2022) PC

Scholastic

University degrees
Location Date School Degree
 England1966Girton College, CambridgeStarred First Bachelor of Arts
 England1969Gray's InnCalled to the bar[8][9]
Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector and fellowships
Location Date School Position
 England2004–presentGirton College, CambridgeVisitor
 England2004 – 2016University of BristolChancellor
 England2015 – presentLaw Society of the University of CambridgeHonorary President[3]
 EnglandJuly 2017 – presentUniversity of BristolHonorary Fellowship[40]
 England17 December 2019 – presentUniversity College LondonHonorary Law Professor[41]
 England2020 – presentLady Margaret Hall, OxfordVisiting Fellow[42]
Honorary degrees
Location Date School Degree
 England2005University of CambridgeDoctorate[43]
 England2006University of HullDoctor of Laws (LLD)[44]
 EnglandJuly 2007University of ReadingDoctor of Laws (LLD)[45]
 England27 February 2009University of the West of EnglandDoctor of Laws (LLD)[46]
 England2009University of HuddersfieldDCL[47]
 EnglandJuly 2010University of SalfordDoctorate[37]
 Scotland June 2011 University of Glasgow Doctor of Laws (LLD)[48]
 EnglandJuly 2011University of KentDoctor of Laws (LLD)[49][50]
 England2016University of WorcesterDoctorate[51]
 England2018York St John UniversityDoctor of Laws (LLD)[52]
 England26 July 2019Edge Hill UniversityDoctor of Laws (LLD)[53]
 England2019University of BradfordDoctor of Laws (LLD)[54][55]
 EnglandLondon School of EconomicsDoctor of Laws (LLD)[56]

Memberships and Fellowships

Location Date Organisation Position
 United Kingdom2004 – PresentBritish AcademyFellow (FBA)[57]
 United Kingdom2017Gray's InnTreasurer[58]

Personal life

In 1968, Hale married John Hoggett, a fellow law lecturer at Manchester, with whom she had one daughter. The marriage was dissolved in 1992. In the same year, she married Julian Farrand, former dean of the law faculty at Manchester,[8][59] and subsequently Pensions Ombudsman.

In April 2018, Hale featured as a celebrity judge on BBC cooking show MasterChef.[60]

In September 2021, Hale appeared on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.[61] In October 2021 she unveiled a blue plaque in honour of Helena Normanton on 22 Mecklenburgh Square in London, saying "Helena Normanton was the pioneer of female barristers. She had to overcome a great deal of prejudice and discrimination. A blue plaque is a fitting tribute to her courage and her example to women barristers everywhere."[62]

Bibliography

  • Parents and Children (1977, 2nd ed. 1981, Sweet and Maxwell) ISBN 9780421279100
  • Women and the Law (as Brenda Hoggett, with Susan Atkins, 1984, republished 2018, Institute of Advanced Legal studies, University of London) ISBN 9781911507109
  • The Family, Law & Society (with David Pearl, Elizabeth Cooke, Daniel Monk, 2009, Oxford University Press) ISBN 9780199204243
  • Mental Health Law (2017, with Penelope Gorman, Rachel Barrett and Jessica Jones, Sweet & Maxwell, ISBN 9780414051201
  • Spider Woman: A Life (2021, as Lady Hale) ISBN 978-1847926593

Arms

Coat of arms of Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond
Notes
Granted by Garter Gwynn-Jones, 16 June 2004[63]
Escutcheon
Gules two scrolls in saltire Argent banded crosswise Vert attached thereto four seals in cross Or all between four towers crenellations outwards Argent.[64]
Supporters
Two frogs Vert crowned Or.
Motto
Omnia Feminae Aequissimae (translated by Debrett's in 2007 as "Everything To The Most Just Woman", but widely discussed in media in 2019 as "Women Are Equal To Everything"[65][66])
Symbolism
The castles represent Richmond while the scrolls represent the law. The crowned frog supporters represent the frog prince.[67] For Hale, the frog prince relates to her husband and her large collection of ceramic frogs. ("It's an inside joke between us. My husband was my frog prince. Now people give us frogs.")[68]

References

  1. ↑ Senior Judiciary List Archived 18 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Ministry of Justice.
  2. ↑ "British judge to leave CFA over security law: report". RTHK. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  3. 1 2 "CULS Lecture: Lady Hale – 'The Life of A Lady Law Lord'". Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge. 3 February 2016. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  4. ↑ "Lord Reed sworn in as new Supreme Court president". Legal Cheek. 13 January 2020. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  5. ↑ "Mansfield College Fellows | Mansfield College".
  6. ↑ "Biographies of the Justices". Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 22 May 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  7. ↑ Amos, Mike (5 April 2018). "Judge not lest thou be judged, but the column's still much impressed by Lady Hale". Bolton News. Archived from the original on 27 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dyer, Clare (9 January 2004). "The Guardian profile: Lady Brenda Hale". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  9. 1 2 3 Stokel-Walker, Chris (24 September 2019). "Lady Hale, the gently determined president of the Supreme Court that overruled Boris Johnson". New Statesman. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  10. 1 2 "Hale of Richmond, Baroness, (Brenda Marjorie Hale) (born 31 Jan. 1945)". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u18586. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  11. ↑ Yonette Joseph; Ceylan Yeginsu (24 September 2019). "Lady Hale, U.K. Supreme Court Judge, Speaks Calmly and Brings Down the Hammer". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 25 September 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  12. ↑ Slawson, Nicola (21 July 2017). "Brenda Hale to become first female president of supreme court – reports". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 December 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  13. 1 2 "No. 57179". The London Gazette. 15 January 2004. p. 503.
  14. 1 2 "Lady Hale to be next Deputy President of Supreme Court". Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. 24 June 2013. Archived from the original on 5 February 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  15. ↑ Siddique, Haroon (21 July 2017). "Brenda Hale appointed as UK supreme court's first female president". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 11 May 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  16. ↑ "No. 62054". The London Gazette. 19 September 2017. p. 17466.
  17. ↑ Bowcott, Owen (1 January 2019). "White and male UK judiciary 'from another planet', says Lady Hale". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  18. ↑ correspondent, Owen Bowcott Legal affairs; Quinn, Ben; Carrell, Severin (24 September 2019). "Boris Johnson's suspension of parliament unlawful, supreme court rules". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  19. ↑ Hattenstone, Simon (11 January 2020). "Lady Hale: 'My Desert Island Judgments? Number one would probably be the prorogation case'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  20. ↑ "Lady Hale warns against the UK adopting a US-style Supreme Court". BBC News. 18 December 2019. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  21. ↑ "Top court gets new judges". The Standard. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  22. ↑ "Hong Kong Gazette Notice GN5815/2018" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  23. ↑ "Britain warns on future of UK judges in Hong Kong". Financial Times. 24 November 2020.
  24. ↑ "Senior British judge to quit top Hong Kong court: media". Hong Kong Free Press. 4 June 2021.
  25. ↑ "Mixed reports on why foreign judge leaves CFA". RTHK. 4 June 2021.
  26. ↑ "Statement by Judiciary on Baroness Hale's term of office as non-permanent CFA judge". Judiciary of Hong Kong. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 4 June 2021.
  27. ↑ "Hong Kong judiciary says British judge to step down from city's top court". Reuters. 4 June 2021.
  28. ↑ "Baroness Hale of Richmond". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 657. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Lords. 12 January 2004. col. 369.
  29. 1 2 Dyer, Henry (17 September 2023). "Eleven peers have not sat in Lords for at least a year after failing to take oath to king". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  30. ↑ "Mental Health: Children and Young People". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 834. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Lords. 23 November 2023. col. 834–835.
  31. ↑ "Supreme Court Speeches (2011)". Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  32. ↑ "Caldwell Public Lecture Archived 9 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine", Trinity College Events [online], accessed, 25 August 2015.
  33. ↑ "'Principle and Pragmatism in Developing Private Law': 2019 Cambridge Freshfields Lecture - the Global Herald". 13 March 2019. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  34. ↑ "Girton150 The Visitor's Lecture by the Rt Hon Baroness Hale of Richmond". Girton College. 2 May 2019.
  35. ↑ The Year 2019: The Annual Review of Girton College Cambridge. Cambridge: Girton College. 2019. p. 56.
  36. ↑ Rozenberg, Joshua (3 February 2020). "An insider's account of the 'Brenda agenda'". Archived from the original on 3 February 2020.
  37. 1 2 "News: Pioneering judge among Salford honorary graduates | News | University of Salford - A Greater Manchester University". 6 January 2011. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  38. ↑ "The Rt Hon. The Baroness Hale of Richmond, DBE".
  39. ↑ "Hibernian Law Medals to be awarded to Robinson and Hale".
  40. ↑ "Baroness Hale | Graduation | University of Bristol". Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  41. ↑ "Baroness Hale appointed Honorary Professor at UCL". UCL News. 17 December 2019. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  42. ↑ "Visiting Fellows (2019 - 2022)". Lady Margaret Hall. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  43. ↑ "Selected Honorands". University of Cambridge. 22 February 2013. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  44. ↑ "Supreme Court President inspires University of Hull students". University of Hull. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  45. ↑ "Presentation of the Rt Hon the Baroness Hale of Richmond" (PDF). University of Reading. July 2007. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  46. ↑ University of the West of England (26 February 2009). "Honorary Degree awarded to Baroness Brenda Hale - UWE Bristol: News Releases". Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  47. ↑ University of Huddersfield (2021). "Honorary Graduates". Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  48. ↑ "University of Glasgow - Schools - School of Law - 100 Years - 100 Voices for 100 Years - Lady Hale". www.gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  49. ↑ "Baroness Brenda Hale of Richmond - Congregations - University of Kent". Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  50. ↑ "Kent Honorary Graduate sworn in as first female president of the UK's Supreme Court – Inspire, Challenge, Excel". 6 October 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  51. ↑ University of Worcester (14 February 2019). "President of Supreme Court to Consider Moral Courage in the Law in Worcester Lecture - University Of Worcester". Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  52. ↑ "2018". York St John University. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  53. ↑ "First female President of the UK Supreme Court receives Edge Hill honour". 26 July 2019. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  54. ↑ "Honorary Graduates - Graduation". Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  55. ↑ "University honours eight at graduations". 15 July 2019. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  56. ↑ London School of Economics (21 February 2018). "LSE honorary degrees". Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  57. ↑ "Rt Hon Baroness Brenda Hale". The British Academy. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  58. ↑ "Interview With Lady Hale," Family Affairs issue 79, Winter 2020, p. 57.
  59. ↑ Hoggett, Anthony John Christopher. UK Who's Who. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U20455. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  60. ↑ Gibb, Frances (30 April 2018). "Baroness Hale to lay down the law on MasterChef". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  61. ↑ "Baroness Hale of Richmond, former judge". Desert Island Discs. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  62. ↑ "Blue plaque for first practising female barrister Helena Normanton unveiled". The Guardian. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  63. ↑ "Newsletter (No. 3)". College of Arms. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  64. ↑ Debrett's Peerage. 2008.
  65. ↑ "'Women are equal to everything': Lady Hale lives up to her motto". The Guardian (Owen Boycott)). 21 July 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  66. ↑ "Mike Amos: Judge not lest thou be judged, but the column's still much impressed by Lady Hale". The Northern Echo. 25 April 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  67. ↑ Berglof, Annie Maccoby (12 August 2011). "Taking tea in Wonderland". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  68. ↑ "Mike Amos: Judge not lest thou be judged, but the column's still much impressed by Lady Hale". The Northern Echo. 25 April 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
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