Archbishop of Sydney

New Legal Year

By + Cardinal George Pell
Archbishop of Sydney
6 February 2005

Last Monday our Courts of Law resumed their important work after the summer break.

To mark the new legal year the various Christian Churches and the Jewish Synagogue hold special religious services to emphasise the central importance of justice and to ask God’s wisdom and blessing on all those who administer our laws.

In a justly ordered society women and men, rich and poor, local born or foreign born should receive equal consideration under the law.

The Roman Empire was rightly proud of its system of laws, although very different treatment was given to Roman citizens and outsiders, with similar distinctions between the rights of free citizens and slaves.  In a real sense all were not equal before the law.

As Christianity was adopted by more and more people it improved the law. In 529 Justinian the Christian Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, living in Istanbul (then called Constantinople) promulgated a new system of laws built around the same principles for all: live honestly, do not hurt others, pay each his due.  Different systems of laws developed in different places.  Ours developed from English common law.  Any good society is held together by good people following just laws.

Each year at this time Chief Justice Spigelman of the N.S.W. Supreme Court outlines some of the challenges or pressure points facing the legal system at the Law Society Dinner.

In the past he has spoken of the long delays in hearing cases, of the increasing costs of legal representation.  Others have spoken of the great increase in the volume and number of laws.  This year the Chief Justice spoke of the possibility of involving juries, the panel of citizens who decide guilt especially in criminal cases, in the sentencing of those they found guilty.  Opinion is divided, but the suggestion merits serious consideration.

Young people must have the importance of justice taught to them and be treated justly so that they believe what they are taught.

We should not be led astray by those few who claim blithely that there are no such things as justice or truth underlying the way we live.

However none of these relativists can consistently follow their thinking to its logical conclusions.  A small story exemplifies this.

There was a brilliant student in moral philosophy who wrote a passionately argued paper “There is no such thing as justice”.  He was failed by his lecturer.  Stunned and disappointed the student complained, explaining the considerable work he had done and that he thought it was a good piece of work.

The professor agreed saying it was the best piece of work he had received in 30 years lecturing; that it was a brilliantly successful and destructive attack on all legal, moral and religious orthodoxies.  In fact, he said “you persuaded me there is no such thing as justice.  So don’t complain”.

We know that God is just and we should try to follow.