Mark Hill KC

Practice Areas

Religious liberty, ecclesiastical law, public law.

Career

Specialist in ecclesiastical law and religious liberty, judicial review. Broad common law practice with emphasis, since taking silk in 2009, on litigation concerning faith communities, Anglican, Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, Hindu, and Baha’i. Caseload includes clergy discipline, education law, charities, trusts, and safeguarding. Leading expert in the faculty jurisdiction of the Church of England regularly appearing in consistory courts and the Court of Arches, and author of practitioner text ‘Ecclesiastical Law’ now in its fourth edition.

Distinguished Global Professor at University of Notre Dame, London. Also Visiting Professor at King’s College London and adjunct professor at Pretoria University and Notre Dame University, Sydney; Distinguished Fellow at Emory University, Atlanta; Consultant editor of the Ecclesiastical Law Journal, and member of the Editorial Board of the Oxford Journal for Law and Religion.

Chancellor of Anglican Dioceses of Chichester, Leeds and Europe. Bencher of the Inner Temple.

Cases: Re Rustat, Jesus College, Cambridge (2022); Re Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (Abortion) (2018) Supreme Court; Re Christ Church Spitalfields (Court of Arches, 2015); Shergill v Khaira (2014) Supreme Court; President of Methodist Conference v Preston (2013) Supreme Court; Eweida v UK (2013) ECtHR; Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints v UK (2011) ECtHR; Holliday v Musa (2010), Court of Appeal; R (HM Coroner for Eastern London) v Secretary of State for Justice (2009) Admin Ct; R (Madden and Finucane) v Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (2006) Admin Ct; PCC of Aston Cantlow v Wallbank (2004) House of Lords.

Co-author of amicus briefs in the United States Supreme Court in various appeals including Masterpiece Cakeshop (2018), and Burwell v Hobby Lobby (2014).

Regular lecturing overseas on the rule of law and religious liberty in projects organised by the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights and OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, including training for judges and lawyers in Nepal, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Nigeria, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Taiwan, and Ukraine. Member of the Council of Experts of the Article 18 Alliance (formerly IRFBA).

Professional Memberships

Vice-President, International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies; Former President, European Consortium for Church and State Research; member of the Steering Committee of the African Consortium for Law and Religion Studies.