Sir Arthur William Hessin Charles (born 25 March 1948) was a judge of the

High Court of England and Wales The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (England ...

. He retired on 17 February 2018. A former judge of the

Family Division The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (England ...

of the

and the President of the Administrative Appeals Chamber of the

Upper Tribunal The Upper Tribunal is part of the administrative justice system of the United Kingdom. It was created in 2008 as part of a programme, set out in the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, to rationalise the tribunal system, and to provide a ...

, he was latterly a judge of the

Queen’s Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

and Vice-President of the

Court of Protection The Court of Protection in English law is a superior court of record created under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. It has jurisdiction over the property, financial affairs and personal welfare of people who lack mental capacity to make decision ...

Education

Charles attended

Malvern College Malvern College is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent coeducational day and boarding school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school in the British sen ...

, then

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

Legal career

In 1971, Charles was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

(

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

). He was junior counsel to the Crown Chancery from 1986 until his appointment as first junior counsel to the Treasury in Chancery matters. He continued in that role until his appointment on 12 January 1998 as a High Court judge. He was appointed to the

and received the customary

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

. He was appointed President of the Administrative Appeals Chamber of the Upper Tribunal on 4 April 2012. On 13 January 2014, the Lord Chief Justice, following consultation with the Lord Chancellor, transferred Mr Justice Charles from the Family Division to the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court, appointing him as Vice-President of the Court of Protection, for a three-year term.

Arms

References

1948 births Living people People educated at Malvern College Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge 21st-century English judges Family Division judges Knights Bachelor 20th-century English judges {{UK-law-bio-stub

Education

Legal career

Arms

See also

References