Robert Yorke Hedges (1903–1963) was a British expatriate judge who was Chief Justice of Sarawak from 1946 to 1951. Hedges was born on 6 August 1903. He was educated at Central High School then

Victoria University of Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. Afte ...

and completed his studies with

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

, Between 1926 and 1927, he studied at Harvard then went to Geneva, where he obtained Diplôme de Hautes Études Internationales. He also obtained

LL.M A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

and

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

by Manchester University. After completing his studies, Hedges worked as a law lecturer at Manchester University, in May 1936, he moved to Brisbane to continue teaching and was engaged as the dean of the newly established University of Queensland Law School. He was admitted into the Queensland bar, but his application for silk was rejected by reason of limited practice. During World War II, he was worked for the British Army stationed in Australia, and in 1945 he was appointed legal staff officer in the military administration in

British Borneo British Borneo comprised the four northern parts of the island of Borneo, which are now the country of Brunei, two Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, and the Malaysian federal territory of Labuan. During the British colonial rule before Worl ...

. Hedges was Chief Justice of Sarawak from 1946 to 1951. In 1956, Hedges was nominated to become a judge at the

Supreme Court of Nigeria The Supreme Court of Nigeria (SCN) is the highest court in Nigeria, and is located in the Central District, Abuja, in what is known as the Three Arms Zone, so called due to the proximity of the offices of the Presidential Complex, the National Ass ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedges, Robert Yorke 1903 births 1963 deaths Nigerian jurists Chief justices Alumni of the University of Manchester Harvard University alumni