The Gazette 1987

GAZETTE

SEPTEMBER 1987

man to esteem the one indivisible

dignity of man in his life with God,

without in so doing excluding other

religions and humanistic sub-

stantiations of human rights."

To keep human life fully human

requires more, as Niebuhr has said,

than a recognition of the basic

human rights, though it implies at

least that. It requires a true mutuali-

ty, interaction, reciprocity between

human beings at both personal and

corporate level; it requires the

mutual respect and harmony which

is both Platonic and Christian; it re-

quires not justice in the strict

juridical sense, but in the enriched

sense that approximates to Chris-

tian love. "For Righteousness and

Justice are the foundations of your

throne." •

Most Reverend D. Williams

We are gathered here on this

solemn occasion to invoke the

blessing of the Holy Spirit on the

occasion of the opening of the new

Law Term. The theme of the

readings which I have chosen for

today's celebration is "Peace". We

are all to be messengers of peace,

as you have just heard in St. John's

Gospel, "As the Father sent me so

am I sending you". You will have

noticed how when Jesus came and

stood among them his greeting

was a greeting of peace. The

disciples were filled with joy,

whereas previously they had been

behind closed doors for fear of the

Jews. You heard Isiah telling us

that in the Old Testament under-

standing, peace was the product of

justice and integrity. It was the

spirit of God from above that turn-

ed the wilderness into "fertile

land" and that gave us "safe

houses, quiet dwellings, and a

peaceful home". That Old Testa-

ment understanding of justice was

of a harmony which derived from

a fidelity to right relationships with

God, with our neighbour, and with

the world around us. In the words

of the Psalm "Justice shall march

before him and peace shall follow

his steps."

You will have noticed how in the

New Testament, St. James de-

velops this theme, indicating "that

the wisdom that comes down from

above makes for peace, it is kindly

and considerate, it is full of com-

passion and shows itself by doing

good". And the excerpt from that

letter of St. James ended by assur-

ing us that "peacemakers when

they work for peace sow the seeds

which will bear fruit in holiness."

Modern Church teaching echoes

this biblical emphasis on peace as

the product of a justice which itself

must be a guiding principle for the

relationships between individuals,

and between individuals and

society.

The legal system carries a heavy

burden of responsibility, since it is

the major social mechanism for

regulating human affairs according

to accepted principles of justice.

The biblical concept of law is of a

social contract, a means of or-

ganising social and human affairs

in a manner which ensures justice,

order, and a degree of harmony,

leading to peace. But the law as a

code of justice, will always be im-

perfect, because it operates within

the

limitations

human

knowledge, and is administered by

imperfect humans. That our legal

system should sometimes fail to

meet the challenge of justice is a

flaw which derives from its posi-

tion as a human institution

supremely vulnerable to human

error.

Like many social institutions, the

legal system can at times defend

the interests of the strong against

the weak. The challenge to the

Christian lawyer is the call to be a

Christian, a challenge which we

must take up in every area of our

lives, in every legal case, in every

legal dispute, in our dealings with

clients. There can be no room in the

life of the Christian lawyer for

anything other than a deep rooted

desire to serve and help each and

every client, in the model of the

one who came among us "as one

who serves".

We are heirs to a code of Chris-

tian justice which offers us a yard-

stick against which to measure our

legal system. Modern Church

teaching has given a new emphasis

to the Gospel message of distri-

butive and social justice seen as a

means of guaranteeing the full par-

ticipation of all people in the com-

mon life of our community. The

legal system must participate in

creating the structures and the

legal mechanisms which will

facilitate even for the poor and

deprived the active participation in

the life of our country. As an exam-

ple, it is to be hoped that the pre-

sent Government will honour its

commitment to introduce a Home-

less Persons' Bill this autumn, and

that the Bill will include provision

for a review or appeal system, sub-

ject to law, to enable the homeless

to seek their rights to decent

accommodation.

Our legal code in this country

places a great emphasis on the in-

dividual; but its role in relation to

the area of social policy seems to

be extremely limited. An example

is the much quoted constitutional

guarantee of the dignity and place

of the family in our society. Yet this

guarantee has not been translated

into measures within our social

welfare legislation which would

provide for an adequate income for

all families. Indeed, the report of

the Commission on Social Welfare,

published over a year ago, docu-

mented shocking levels of poverty

among the families of the

unemployed, a group which was

found to be at the highest risk of

poverty. One is tempted to com-

pare the priority placed on the

constitutional guarantees to the

family, with the manner in which

the Courts uphold the guarantee to

private property even in recent

judgements. There must surely be

implications here for the relative

importance which our legal system

attaches to commutative as oppos-

ed to distributive and social justice.

The law occupies a critical posi-

tion as a key social institution. As

such it reflects the existing divi-

sions within our society between

rich and poor. When we reflect on

the reality of our criminal law and

the relationship between criminali-

ty and socio-economic back-

ground, we must face the question

of whether the law in fact adopts

two different standards: one for

the unemployed young person ac-

cused of robbery or shop lifting, the

other for the company director ac-

cused of fraud.

The lawyer in a special way

reflects the conscience of our

society, especially for those who

come to you seeking justice,

guidance and help. As lawyers, you

help to form the society we live in.

In these days, our Christian

challenge must lead us to apply

moral Christian principles to our

everyday lives. You will recall the

letter of St. James "If there are any

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