Public Law Liberty, the Archetype and Diversity: a Philosophy of Judging
Page1 Public Law 2010 Liberty, the archetype and diversity: a philosophy of judging Terence Etherton Subject: Administration of justice Keywords: Human rights; Integrity; Judicial decision-making; Jurisprudence; Justice; Supreme Court Legislation: Human Rights Act 1998 *P.L. 727 A conscientious judge always wishes to reach the correct decision. It is important for us that the judge does so for we wish to live in a just society. It is usually said to be a critical feature of the advanced liberal democracy, which is Great Britain today, as of other such democracies, that it is governed by the rule of law. There is no fixed meaning to that term,1 but it would at the least carry for most people the idea of law that is ascertainable and consistently and fairly applied. How can we be certain, however, that the correct decision, that is to say, the best possible decision, or at least a legitimate one, has been reached in a case in which different judges of the highest ability, knowledge and sensitivity disagree on the outcome, and either outcome would be regarded by some other judges, lawyers and citizens as correct2 ? We are not so naive as to think that difficult and important legal decisions are merely the result of a process in the nature of an algorithm. Is there, then, an analytical and adjudicative approach that will enable the conscientious judge to be confident that the decision reached is the best possible decision, and certainly a legitimate one, even if judicial colleagues, politicians and other citizens disagree with it? These are not, of course, new questions.
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