Oagile Bethuel Key Dingake

In Pursuit of Justice Oagile Bethuel Key Dingake

This book discusses the intersection of philosophy, politics and law and how judges' ideological outlook may influence the decision of the court. The author teases out the underlying influences that drive judges to decide matters in a particular way, especially in highly-contentious legal questions that have far-reaching national consequences, such as in cases of abortion, euthanasia and same-sex marriage. The book interrogates, in the most thought-provoking manner, the question of whether a judge's background, values and education matter at all in the adjudicatory process. Whilst the author concedes the point that a judge must respect the chains that bind him as a judge, he also makes the equally-fascinating argument that every judge processes the controversies serving before him with his own mind and not the mind of any other person. Every judge is a product of his own circumstances and time. He may grow up with certain prejudices and stereotypes that do not magically disappear soon after taking the oath of office. As is often said, no judge ascends to the bench as an ideological virgin. As Justice Aharon Barak of the Supreme Court of Israel once observed, "A person who is appointed as a judge is neither required nor able to change his skin."The author also discusses with breathtaking clarity the role of a judge as a lawmaker Essentially, the book discusses the tensions and anxiety around the judicialization of politics and the politicization of the law.