Mark Hedley

Sir Mark Hedley, DL (born 23 August 1946) is a British retired judge. He was a Justice of the High Court from 2002 to 2013.

Early life and education

Hedley was born on 23 August 1946 in London, England.^[1]^[2] He was brought up in Africa.^[2] He was educated at Framlingham College, then an all-boys private school.^[1] He studied law at the University of Liverpool, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree.^[1]^[2]

Legal career

Hedley was called to the bar at Gray's Inn in 1969 and made a bencher in 2002. He was appointed a Recorder in 1988 and a circuit judge for the Northern Circuit in 1992.^[3] On 11 January 2002, he was appointed a High Court judge,^[4] receiving the customary knighthood, and assigned to the Family Division. He retired on 10 January 2013.^[5]

Ecclesiastical career

Since 1975, Hedley has been a Reader (licensed lay minister) of the Church of England. In 2002, he was appointed Chancellor of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool.^[1] In August 2024 a BBC investigation revealed that Hedley had made Decisions in his role as Deputy President of Tribunals which meant that complaints against a priest were not able to be examined fully under the Clergy Discipline Measure. Hedley wrote in his Decision: "I think it could be proved that the respondent had some non-consensual homosexual relations with the complainant." However, he declined to send the case to a tribunal because he did not think it was possible to prove that the alleged victim was under the age of 18.^[6]

Honours

On 27 April 2015, Hedley was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of Merseyside.^[7]

He was awarded the Canterbury Cross for Services to the Church of England in 2022.^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d 'HEDLEY, Sir Mark', Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 2016 accessed 18 Oct 2017
^ ^a ^b ^c Elston, Laura (8 October 2004). "Judge who had to make the final decision". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
^ "The Hon Mr Justice Hedley". Debrett's People of Today. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
^ "No. 56455". The London Gazette. 16 January 2001. p. 541.
^ "Retirement of a High Court Judge - the Honourable Sir Mark Hedley". www.justice.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 23 April 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
^ "Why does the Church of England struggle to address abuse claims?". BBC News. 15 August 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
^ "No. 61214". The London Gazette. 30 April 2015. p. 7986.
^ "Archbishop of Canterbury honours outstanding people in 2022 Lambeth Awards". The Archbishop Of Canterbury. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.

This United Kingdom law-related biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[WW_2017-1] 'HEDLEY, Sir Mark', Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 2016 accessed 18 Oct 2017

[final-2] Elston, Laura (8 October 2004). "Judge who had to make the final decision". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 October 2017.

[3] "The Hon Mr Justice Hedley". Debrett's People of Today. Retrieved 6 January 2013.

[4] "No. 56455". The London Gazette. 16 January 2001. p. 541.

[5] "Retirement of a High Court Judge - the Honourable Sir Mark Hedley". www.justice.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 23 April 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2022.

[6] "Why does the Church of England struggle to address abuse claims?". BBC News. 15 August 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2024.

[LG-7] "No. 61214". The London Gazette. 30 April 2015. p. 7986.

[8] "Archbishop of Canterbury honours outstanding people in 2022 Lambeth Awards". The Archbishop Of Canterbury. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]