SUPREME COURT BENCH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18942, 13 February 1925, Page 12

SUPREME COURT BENCH.

APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES, THE BEST MEN ESSENTIAL. KNIGHTHOODS FOR SERVICES. Tho resolutions adopted at tho meeting of tho Council of tho Wellington District Law Society in reference to tho salary and pension of Judges of tho Supremo Court, and as to tho general question of appointments to the Bench, have attracted wide attention in legal circles, and may, so far as can be ascertained, be taken to express tho prevailing opinion of members of tho Bar on matters referred to, says tho Wellington Post. On Friday last, tho views of two leaders of tho profession on tho subject were given. The desirableness of setting up it separate Court of Appeal was also emphasised. Speaking on these questions on Tuesday another prominent member of tho pro- J fession, said: — "I think it is eminently desirable that, the most eminent of those at tho Bar who display at tho same time the judicial temperament, should be appointed to tho Bench. It would bo undesirable to have on the Bench men inferior to the practising Bar in their knowledge of law, or, in their experience of legal lousiness, as the Bench would, in that event, be unconsciously dominated by the Bar. Unless those well recognised_as the leaders of the Bar will accept judicial office, then the Bench Will suiter in the_ estimation of the Bar and of the public. It is not only important that tho Bench dispense justice, but it is equally important that the Bench be held in such estimation that when decisions are given it is recognised that thoy aro the decisions of the men best qualified to declare tho law and to apply it. "Whatever be the cause, the fact must now be faced that tho Bench does not under present conditions attract many of the leaders of the profession. Some 15 years ago or so tho leaders of the profession would no doubt, if offered a position on the Bench, have been willing to accept, but it may now bo taken as certain that many of the leaders have refused or that their refusal is so obvious that they will not be offered a position. "Tho difficulty is cumulative. If the leaders of the Bar wero unwilling in the past to accept a position, then, as time goes on they will be moro reluctant to take a position which would be junior to that htsld by those who wero their juniors in leadership at tho Bar. "I think that the honour of knighthood should bo one a Judge must bo able to expect, if not reasonably soon after his appointment, then on, say, the expiration of five years of service on the Bench. Service as a Judge is ardous public service, and should have honour accorded to it as such. "The second resolution of tho La.w Society is, I think, expressive of what is obvious. Capacity for the position, and not mere political service, should be tho test. The Bench will lose in public estimation if it were regarded as a position to which any politician afraid of tho political future may retire in safety. The resolution of the Law Society may at the present time be published without any misgiving because the profession has always recognised the pre-eminent claims, in former years, of the present AttorneyGeneral to judicial preferment. Indeed, it is no secret that before he attained the office, of Attorney-General judicial appointments were offered to him, but even then, presumably, the conditions of tho Bench, or else his political ambitions, dictated a refusal. "I am in favour of a Court of Appeal separata from the Supremo Court. This is the system which has obtained for many years in England, and it has worked exceedingly well. "At the present time in New Zealand we have the possibility of, say, five Judges sitting as a Full Court, and being reversed by three Judges of equal standing, merely because in form sitting as a Court of Appeal. The confidence in a decision depends not only on the number of Judges who join in pronouncing it, but more especially on the well-known capacity and ability of those pronouncing it. Such a Court of Appeal could, of course, include the Chief Justice and some of the more experienced and eminent of tha Judges, and such recognised leaders of the Bar as accepted the office. It would be useless thinking of such a Court unless the conditions were such as to attract thereto the men whose eminence and experience marked them out as peculiarly fitted therefor."