LORD HEWART TELLS HOW TO BE A GOOD JUDGE

Northern Advocate, 3 May 1937, Page 5

LORD HEWART TELLS HOW TO BE A GOOD JUDGE

Pray silence for Lord Hewart, Lord Chief Justice of England, speaking on the subject of judges and their duties.

The life of a judge, no doubt, appears easy to those who have escaped it. Yet a little reflection seems to show that a good many things are expected Of him.

At one and the same time he must be a miracle of experience, knowledge and sympathy, but he must also be capable, at decent intervals, of asking such questions as “What is a Test match?” and “Who is Gracie Fields?”

How can a man reconcile these and other conflicting demands? The secret consists, I fancy-, in two things—nothing could produce such wonderful results except first a prolonged and severe training at the Bar, and secondly a full-bottomed wig. Stimulative Advantages, The stimulative advantages of that headdress were, as you recollect, recognised by the wise men of old when they set it upon the head of the Sphinx. There are three formulas or incantations which at the earliest possible moment he must accustom himself to utter frequently, vigorously and with complacency. One is: “In my opinion this matter falls within a very narrow compass.” The second is: “This argument seemed likely at one time to raise an important and difficult ' question on which, if it had arisen, I should, of course, have been happy to express my opinion, but as it does not arise I need not . refer to it.” And the third is: “Speaking for myself, I am bound to confess” —this, that or the other thing—though why a Judge should confess anything I have never been able to understand. “Woe Unto Them,” On a certain occasion the .judges were about to present a loyal address, and the draft which one of them proposed began with the words, “Conscious as we are of our imperfections . . .” There were those who thought that the phrase seemed to indicate an unbecoming humility, whereupon an amendment was suggested. “Conscious as we are of one another’s imperfections . . .” There may still be point in that text in “Apocrypha,” “Woe unto them that say, ‘Here is a judgment; therefore let us reverse it.’ For verily they themselves shall be reversed.” For myself, however, I prefer to think rather of the bewildering perfection of my eminent colleagues.