Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-07-25
ENGLISH LAWYERS RAIL
AT THE LAWS DELAYS
Special Correspondence Of The Star.

NGLlSH justice. which once had
r. the reputation of being the surest
- and speediest in the world. is be-
coming leaden-footed, and a loud cry is
going up from litigants and the public
generally for reform. The judges are
joining in the cry, and the prime minis
ter has promised to appoint commits
sion to investigate the whole subject of
the laws delays.
No one blames the Judges or the other
officials of the court The trouble is
that the number Of judges has not kept
pace with the growth in population
and the increase of litigation incident on
the complex conditions Of modern life.
There are now sixteen judges Of the
kings bench-which would correspond
to the supreme court in most Ameri-
can states-and they have to do practi-
eally all the work for the whole of Eng
land and Wales This is practically
the same number as hundred years
ago. although the volume Of litigation
has more than doubled.
The result Is that the calendar in the
kings bench is now about 1000 cases be-
hind, and the arrears are growing stead
lily. Many OF the judges are working
overtime in vain effort to catch up,
and about all they can do is to keep
down the arrears little 1t is estimate
that litigant in an important case must
wait a year now before he can get
hearing.
The lord chancellor few days ago in
troduced a bill in the house of lords
which may help little. but no one thinks
that it will solve the problem. He pro-
| courts. and thus reduce little the pres
sure on the high courts. The county
courts are the poor mans tribunals At
present they may not deal with any cases
IN which the amount Involved is more
than 500 and there are certain classes
of cases, such as libel and SANDER,
ductioE and breach of promise of mar
riage. which they may not touch. The
lord chancelor's bill removes the five
hundred-dollar limit and allows them TO
deal. with the consent of litigants. with
cases involving any amount of money,
but does not extend the list of classes of
business which they may handle.
Competent legal observers declare, too,
, that large increase in the county court
force is needed. There are now no fewer
than thirty-four county court judges VINO
are trying 5000 cases a year each, and
il is difficult to see how they can do more
than they are doing at present. 1t Is
estimated that to deal adequately with
the volume of litigation at least twenty
five additional county cour judges and
half-a-dozen judges of the nigh court are
needed.
OF course. the members of the upper
branch of the legal profession are unani-
mousy in favor of these proposed
changes. 1t is not every day that thirty
or more vacancies on the bench occur,
and every barriSter of prominence is hop
/ ing that he will secure one of them. In
| this country. it may be remarked. judges
] are appointed for life and the pay is
good. There are two other reforms being
I urged, however. that are not meeting with
i such nirpDl,S 3nnrDSal from the dis
clpies of Blackstone. One is that the
vacancies in the higher courts pe filled
! by promotion from the county court
! bench. At present judgeships of the
| high court are usually given to the polit-
zeal barristers who have served their
party in parliament. and the politicians
are naturally averse to losing control
of this patronage.
/ The other is that solicitors should be
eligible for appointments to the bench.
/ In this country lawyers are divided into
two classes-solicitors. wfo may not
i plead r the higher courts. and barristers.
who have monopoly of this privilege.
The ltiGant may not engage his own
/ barristec and deal with him direct He
must proceed through solicitor. who
does all the preliminary work on the case
and then sits in court at the barrlster's
/ elbow and prompts him. The solicitor
/ is generally the better lawyer, but he is
not eligible for any of the prizes of the
profession.
4
ed is either the abolition or the drastic
| remodeling OF the asSize system. Under
this plan, which was all we'll enough III
the days of stage coaches and post
chaises the judges of the high court
must appear at the chief town of each
county four times year and hold court.
1t does not matter whether there is any
business to be done or not. the judge
must drive through the town in open
carriage attired in his red robe and his
wig and declare I. court open and then
as soemnly close it again.
/ IL often happens that there are no
cases for trial. or that there are only
one or two. which might without any
ha rdship be transferred to London or to
the adjoining county but this cannot be
done under the present system. In these
DAYS of railways there is no excuse for
the assize plan. 1t might entail some
hardship If all ltigants had to come to
| London but II would be quite possible
TO hold high court aSsizes at two or three
central points in the provinces. and II
this were done and the Jurisdiction of the
county courts were extended no hard
ship would be inflicted.
/ So serious has the situation become
that a great many business men refuse
TO take their disputes into court at all
but submit them to arbitration. a num-
Der of the commercial exchanges in Lon
don have established what are really pri-
vate courts. where business disputes are
heard by experts and argued by coun-
sci Just as in the official courts. Before
entering on an arbitration of this kind
both parties must sign an agreement 10
abide by the decision OF arbitr, .ors.