UNTAINTED JUSTICE

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 576, 31 January 1929, Page 8

UNTAINTED JUSTICE

PROPHECY is generally dangerous; but speculation as to the appointment of Supreme Court judges seems to have special hazards of its own. During the past few weeks it was generally accepted as an open secret in Sydney, that either Mr. T. R. Bavin, Premier of New South Wales, or the Hon. J. G. Latham, Commonwealth Attorney-General, would be appointed to the High Court Bench in succession to the late Mr. Justice Higgins. The appointment of either of these men would have had vague political significance, and Australia has now to be congratulated on eschewing an act which might have had the effect of lessening public faith in her judicature. Mr. Owen Dixon, K.C., one of the most brilliant advocates in Victoria, has been appointed, and Australia lias, through this sensible aet, shown her determination to send only the most distinguished lawyers to the Bench. Although there has never been any suggestion that political motives sway the appointment of judges to the New Zealand Supreme Court Bench, there is just a shadow of doubt as to whether the leaders of the legal profession have inducement enough to surrender the larger remunerations of private practice to make themselves available for public service as judges. There was a time when the New Zealand Bench was as strong as any outside England. Within a generation there have been men like Sir Joshua Williams, Sir Frederick Chapman, the late Mr. Justice Edwards, the late Mr. Justice Salmond—whose works on Jurisprudence are regarded as authoritative in many countries —and more recent still, a great lawyer such as the late Sir William Sim. These are the men who have made the fine traditions of the Dominion Bench, and it is imperative that the standards they set should be maintained. The announcement of a successor to the late Mr. Justice Sim is about to be made, and already several tames have been mentioned. The last appointment, that of Mr. Justice Smith, showed that there was a swing-over in favour of young men, and there is a likelihood that a. young man is about to be chosen now. There is wisdom in this so long as the young man has had experience enough to fit him for the position; but it would not be altogether wise to make a practice of appointing young men in the hope that they will become useful members of the Bench in years to come. “Playing into form’’ is often a slow business, and so far as the interpretation and administration of the law is concerned, experiment is scarcely desirable. Academic achievement is not enough to make a judge; for in addition to legal knowledge, he must know the foibles and frailties of mankind.

These are considerations that should be borne in mind when appointments to the Dominion’s Bench are being made. In the past few years death has removed great figures, and worthy successors must be found, even if it means increasing salaries. Our justice is even-handed; but it must always be competent as well.