Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond

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Brenda Marjorie Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond, Template:Post-nominals (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.<ref>Senior Judiciary List Template:Webarchive, Ministry of Justice.</ref>

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, Lady 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. Lady Hale is one of five women to have been appointed to the Supreme Court (alongside Lady Black of Derwent, Lady Arden of Heswall, Lady Rose of Colmworth and Lady Simler).

Lady 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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, Lady 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.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref>

On 11 January 2020, Lady Hale was succeeded by Lord Reed of Allermuir as President of the Supreme Court.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2021, Hale became an honorary fellow of Mansfield College, Oxford.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2022, Lady Hale was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Law by the University of Chichester.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Early life

Brenda Marjorie Hale<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name=Guardian/><ref name=New/>

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.<ref name="Guardian">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="New">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref name=":0" /> Two years earlier, she became the first woman and youngest person to be appointed to the Law Commission, overseeing a number of important reforms<ref name="NYT 92419">Template:Cite news</ref> in family law during her nine years with the commission. In 1989, she was appointed Queen's Counsel.<ref name=Guardian/>

Judicial career

Lady 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).<ref name=Guardian/> Upon her appointment, as is convention, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). In 1999, Lady Hale followed Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss to become only the second woman to be appointed to the Court of Appeal (styled thereafter The Right Honourable Lady Justice Hale), entering the Privy Council at the same time.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref name="LG 57179">Template:London Gazette</ref><ref name=Supreme/> She sat in the House of Lords as a Crossbencher.<ref>Baroness Hale of Richmond: Parliamentary career – website of the UK Parlement</ref>

In June 2013, she was appointed Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to succeed Lord Hope of Craighead.<ref name=Supreme>Template:Cite web</ref> In July 2017, she was appointed to be the next President of the Supreme Court, succeeding Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She took office in September 2017.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>

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, Lady 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".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In September 2019, Prime Minister Boris Johnson prorogued Parliament over Brexit. As President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Lady Hale along with all 11 other Justices of the Supreme Court, unanimously found that Johnson's prorogation was unlawful, terminating the suspension of Parliament.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Hale described the ruling as "a source of, not pride, but satisfaction."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2020, reaching the mandatory retirement age, Lady Hale retired from the court.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The appointment was gazetted by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong Carrie Lam and took effect 30 July 2018 for a three-year term.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In October 2020, after China imposing a controversial national security law on Hong Kong, Lady 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."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.'<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, the Hong Kong Judiciary claimed that her leaving was for personal reasons.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Lady 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

House of Lords

Lady Hale became a member of the House of Lords following her appointment as a law lord,<ref name="LG 57179" /> and was introduced to the Lords on 12 January 2004.<ref>Template:Cite Hansard</ref>

In September 2023, Lady 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.<ref name="Eleven peers">Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="Eleven peers" /> 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.<ref>Template:Cite Hansard</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 10 September 2015, Lady 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?".<ref>"Caldwell Public Lecture Template:Webarchive", Trinity College Events [online], accessed, 25 August 2015.</ref>

On 2 November 2018, Lady 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, Lady Hale delivered the University of Cambridge Freshfields law lecture, which she entitled "Principle and Pragmatism in Developing Private Law".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In a 2019 Girton College lecture entitled "100 Years of Women in Law",<ref name="gc150">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="girton">Template:Cite book</ref> Lady Hale described the "Brenda Agenda" 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."<ref name=brenda>Template:Cite news</ref>

In June 2024, Lady Hale lectured a large audience at Conway Hall organised by Humanists UK and My Death, My Decision, in which she referred to the law preventing medically assisted euthanasia (assisted dying) as "cruel". This was her first public intervention on the subject since she gave a dissenting opinion in support of the claimant in R (Nicklinson) v Ministry of Justice a decade previously.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Honours

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Commonwealth honours

Country Date Appointment Post-nominal letters
Template:Flagu 1989Template:Spaced ndashPresent Queen's Counsel (1989 – 8 September 2022) / King's Counsel (since 8 September 2022) QC / KC
Template:Flagu 1994Template:Spaced ndashPresent Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire DBE
Template:Flagu 1999Template:Spaced ndashPresent Member 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

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Scholastic

University degrees
Location Date School Degree
Template:Flagu 1966 Girton College, Cambridge Starred First Bachelor of Arts
Template:Flagu 1969 Gray's Inn Called to the bar<ref name="Guardian"/><ref name="New"/>
Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector and fellowships
Location Date School Position
Template:Flagu 2004Template:Ndashpresent Girton College, Cambridge Visitor
Template:Flagu 2004Template:Spaced ndash2016 University of Bristol Chancellor
Template:Flagu 2015Template:Spaced ndashpresent Law Society of the University of Cambridge Honorary President<ref name="auto"/>
Template:Flagu July 2017Template:Spaced ndashpresent University of Bristol Honorary Fellowship<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu 17 December 2019Template:Spaced ndashpresent University College London Honorary Law Professor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu 2020Template:Spaced ndashpresent Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Visiting Fellow<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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Honorary degrees
Location Date School Degree
Template:Flagu 2005 University of Cambridge Doctorate<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu 2006 University of Hull Doctor of Laws (LLD)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu July 2007 University of Reading Doctor of Laws (LLD)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu 27 February 2009 University of the West of England Doctor of Laws (LLD)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu 2009 University of Huddersfield DCL<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu July 2010 University of Salford Doctorate<ref name="auto1"/>
Template:Flagu June 2011 University of Glasgow Doctor of Laws (LLD)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu July 2011 University of Kent Doctor of Laws (LLD)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu 2016 University of Worcester Doctorate<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu 2018 York St John University Doctor of Laws (LLD)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu 26 July 2019 Edge Hill University Doctor of Laws (LLD)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu 2019 University of Bradford Doctor of Laws (LLD)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu London School of Economics Doctor of Laws (LLD)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu 15 March 2024 Jean Monnet University Doctorat Honoris Causa (DHC)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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Memberships and Fellowships

Location Date Organisation Position
Template:Flagu 2004Template:Spaced ndashPresent British Academy Fellow (FBA)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu 2017 Gray's Inn Treasurer<ref>"Interview With Lady Hale," Family Affairs issue 79, Winter 2020, p. 57.</ref>

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Personal life

In 1968, Lady Hale married John Hoggett, a fellow law lecturer at Manchester, with whom she had one daughter, Julia Hoggett, who was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the London Stock Exchange in April 2021. The marriage was dissolved in 1992. In the same year, she married Julian Farrand, former dean of the law faculty at Manchester,<ref name=Guardian/> and subsequently Pensions Ombudsman.

In April 2018, Lady Hale featured as a celebrity judge on BBC cooking show MasterChef.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In September 2021, Lady Hale appeared on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the following month 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."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Bibliography

Arms

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Notes

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References

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