The Lord Mayor's dinner for HM Judges

A couple of years ago I suggested the country was bust. That was my word. It caused something of a panic. That was not something anyone was supposed to say – certainly not one of HM Judges. But we were bust. And we are bust. And that has many knock-on consequences for the entire community, and that includes the administration of justice which cannot be ring-fenced or insulated. We shall of course do our best to handle any difficulties.

Shortly we shall have practical completion of the Rolls Building. Fortunately that started before the current economic crisis. It has been a long drawn out process that it has provided a major international centre for the concentrated administration of civil justice in the many different forms it can take. It is easy to overlook that work will come into the court building from all over the world for the simple reason that litigants believe that this is the court where their disputes or litigation will receive the most thorough, balanced, and skilled attention from incorruptible judges. This business is not here out of kindness or charity for the United Kingdom. It is not obliged to come here. But it does.