THE MAGISTRACY.

Waikato Times, Volume 121, Issue 20281, 25 August 1937, Page 6

THE MAGISTRACY.

Justice, it has been said, is the whole secret of success in government, and the administration of justice is vital to the working of any democratic form of governance. Those to whom the task is entrusted must devote themselves to it with singleness of purpose, and without fear of the consequences. These things are so much taken for granted in the Dominion that it probably came as a shock to many to be told that the Stipendiary Magistrates and Justices of the Peace have not the immunity that is the right of every member of the Supreme Court Bench. If, in the course of his work, a magistrate should go beyond the bounds of his jurisdiction, then, as Mr J. H. Luxford, S.M. has stated, he incurs a personal liability. Mr Luxford gave a specific instance of a Magistrate having to find half the amount of a claim made because it had been held that he had exceded his jurisdiction, and he added that the case was not singular. Such a state of affairs should have the immediate attention of the authorities. No one, in the administration of justice, should have any occasion to consider whether a judgment would expose him to personal liability. His clear duty is to interpret the law to the best of his knowledge and ability. If any party is not satisfied then there are courses open, in the majority of cases, for having the issue reviewed in a higher Court. Once there, apparently, the personal liability of the judge disappears entirely, although a litigant still has courts of appeal open to him. The extension of this freedom to the Magistracy could be safeguarded, along the lines that Mr Luxford suggested. The case in which a liability was incurred was most striking. The Crown law officers advised that the enactment governing the case was a trap. It was the law as passed by Parliament, and all concerned with its administration should be protected against any liability in that connection. Weighty endorsement of Mr Luxford s contention has come from a member of the Supreme Court Bench, and there can be little doubt that public opinion will be behind the request for an amendment of the law. All sections of the community are anxious that the vital work of administering the laws of the land shall be entrusted to men of character and ability, and that they shall be protected from any personal liability, or any form of pressure in the discharge of that duty.