Patrick Stewart Hodge, Lord Hodge, PC (born 19 May 1953) is a Scottish judge, currently serving as Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.

Early life

Hodge was educated at Croftinloan School, a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

junior

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

, and Trinity College, Glenalmond, also in Perthshire. He studied at

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...

(BA), and the University of Edinburgh School of Law ( LLB), and worked as a civil servant at the

Scottish Office The Scottish Office was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland. Following the es ...

between 1975 and 1978, before being admitted to the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates () is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a const ...

in 1983.

Legal career

Hodge was appointed Standing Junior Counsel to the Department of Energy from 1989 to 1991, and to the

Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...

from 1991 to 1996, in which year he became

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

. As a QC, his practice was mainly in commercial law, judicial review and property law. He served as a part-time Commissioner on the

Scottish Law Commission The Scottish Law Commission () is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It was established in 1965 to keep Scots law under review and recommend necessary reforms to improve, simplify and update the country's legal ...

from 1997 to 2003, and from 2000 to 2005 was a Judge of the Courts of Appeal of

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

and

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

, and Procurator to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. He was appointed a Senator of the College of Justice in 2005, taking the

judicial courtesy title A courtesy title is a form of address and/or reference in the British system of nobility used for children, former wives and other close relatives of a peer, as well as certain officials such as some judges and members of the Scottish gentry. Thes ...

Lord Hodge. Like all Scottish judges on the Supreme Court, he has sat in both the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...

and

High Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary () is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff C ...

, but had particular responsibility as the Exchequer judge in the Court of Session. Between 2009 and 2011, Hodge chaired the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

's Special Commission on Same-sex Relationships and the Ministry. On 1 October 2013, Hodge succeeded The Lord Hope of Craighead as a

Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom are the judges of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom other than President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the president and Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United ...

. On 27 January 2020, Hodge was appointed Deputy President of the Supreme Court, succeeding Lord Reed who became president. Hodge was nominated to Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal on 5 October 2020, where overseas judges are allowed to serve part-time in addition to appointments in their home jurisdictions. He assumed office on 1 January 2021 to fill the vacancy left by Australian judge

James Spigelman James Jacob Spigelman (born 1 January 1946) is a former Australian judge who served as Chief Justice of New South Wales from 1998 to 2011, and also as Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales from 1998 to 2012. He served on the Court of Final ...

who had quit because of the concern over the controversial national security law enacted by

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. In a joint letter, a group of 32 lawmakers from both houses of the

UK parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

raised concerns about Hodge's appointment. On 30 March 2022, he tendered his resignation as a

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

judge, citing concerns about the national security law. The Queen appointed Hodge to represent her as Lord High Commissioner to the Church of Scotland's 2022

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

. King Charles III approved his reappointment in 2023. He was succeeded in this role by The Duke of Edinburgh on 10 March 2024. On 17 December 2024, Hodge announced his intention to retire from the Supreme Court on 31 December 2025.

Personal life

Hodge married Penelope Jane Wigin in 1983, with whom he has two sons and a daughter. His interests include opera and skiing, and he is a member of Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society. He has been a Governor of Merchiston Castle School,

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, since 1998.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodge, Patrick Stewart 1953 births Living people People educated at Glenalmond College Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Edinburgh School of Law Deputy presidents of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Members of the Faculty of Advocates Hodge Scottish King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel 21st-century Scottish civil servants Judges of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Justices of the Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong)

Early life

Legal career

Personal life

See also

References