He studied at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (BA), and the University of Edinburgh School of Law (LLB), and worked as a civil servant at the Scottish Office between 1975 and 1978,[2] before being admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1983.

[2] He served as a part-time Commissioner on the Scottish Law Commission from 1997 to 2003, and from 2000 to 2005 was a Judge of the Courts of Appeal of Jersey and Guernsey,[4] and Procurator to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

[6] 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.

[7] He assumed office on 1 January 2021 to fill the vacancy left by Australian judge James Spigelman who had quit because of the concern over the controversial national security law enacted by China.

[8][9] In a joint letter, a group of 32 lawmakers from both houses of the UK parliament raised concerns about Hodge's appointment.