Foreword

Date01 January 2017
AuthorMr Justice Max Barrett
vii
Foreword
ere is a story told about Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr, and Billings Learned Hand,
two distinguished American judges who held federal oce during the rst half of
the 20th century. Holmes served as a member of the United States Supreme Court
for 30 years. Learned Hand enjoyed a 40-year judicial career that included time on
the federal District Court and then the Court of Appeals. e judgments of both
men are still regularly cited in American courts and Holmes has even got a few
mentions in the Irish courts, though I do not immediately recall a reference in Irish
case-law to any of Learned Hand’s judgments.1 During their lifetimes, Holmes and
Learned Hand are reputed to have had a lunch together at a time when they were
both serving judges. Holmes was the rst to rise from the table and had just got
into his carriage outside when Learned Hand came charging aer him shouting,
in a t of enthusiasm or temper (versions vary), ‘Do justice, sir! Justice!’ To which
Holmes is said to have replied coolly, ‘I do law.’
Where the truth lies between these two visions of being a judge would probably
test the wisdom of Solomon. But in the collection of authors who feature in
this volume of the Hibernian Law Journal, one nds a group of individuals who
between them are clearly interested in both law and justice, and rightly so. Even
with the proper respect for precedent which our common law tradition manifests,
the legal system can be a powerful force for the progressive advancement of justice,
at least so long as there is meaningful access for all to the courts and to aordable
legal representation. A striking feature of this volume of the Journal is the clear
desire among the authors for better law, better justice, better government, and
hence ultimately a better society. It is comforting to think that people with such
motivations are entering, or recent entrants to, the legal professions; they will
nd that there are a great many existing legal practitioners who wish for similar
1 In fact, the extent to which American and (non-United Kingdom) Commonwealth cases get
cited, at least before the High Court, is surprisingly limited. Because, as a nation, we share so
many commonalities with the United Kingdom, cases from that jurisdiction will likely always
carry a special weight once there is no Irish case-law on a point. Even so, there is a well of carefully
considered common-law jurisprudence still out there waiting to be drawn upon, especially wider
Commonwealth case-law which so oen ties into United Kingdom case-law at some level and so
will refer to authorities with which Irish courts and lawyers are likely to be familiar (unlike United
States authorities which, because they hail from a more free-standing legal system, may require more
contextual explanation before a judge would feel comfortable relying on them). One potentially
interesting implication of Brexit is whether, as the United Kingdom statute-book begins to diverge
from that of the European Union, there will be a concomitant increase in the number of cases cited
before our courts from member states other than the United Kingdom when it comes to determining
the proper interpretation and application of some aspect of European Union legislation that has not
yet been the subject of a decision by the CJEU.
00 HibJour[2017].indd 7 30/05/2017 16:29

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