Anthony Hayden

Sir Anthony Paul Hayden (born 24 June 1961), styled The Hon. Mr Justice Hayden, is a judge of the High Court of England and Wales and former barrister appointed to the High Court.

He was called to the bar at Middle Temple in 1987 and was appointed a Queen's Counsel (QC) in 2002. On 31 July 2013, he was appointed a judge of the High Court of Justice (Family Division) and invested with the customary knighthood in 2014.

In 2018 he presided the Alfie Evans case over the legal challenge by the parents of Alfie Evans against Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

In 2019, he notoriously stated "I cannot think of any more obviously fundamental human right than the right of a man to have sex with his wife – and the right of the state to monitor that." The statement referred to a case in the UK court of protection, brought by a council’s social services after the condition of the woman in question (who had learning difficulties) began to deteriorate. The statement caused substantial outcry from all sides, and was later (2024) used by Amnesty International in a misogyny-awareness quiz.

In 2022, he was one of the judges to hear the Archie Battersbee case.