Wheels of Justice Run Quietly in This Historic Setting

This article was published in the Times of India on 25th April 2019 -https://epaper.timesgroup.com/

Royal Courts of England

Royal Courts of England

Royal Courts of England

The very impressive, Gothic styled, building of Royal Courts of Justice was opened by Queen Victoria in December 1882, after eleven years of Construction. This court building in London houses the High Court and court of Appeal of England and Wales. It has about 86 court rooms. In the vicinity of the royal Courts are located several ‘Inns of court’ including the more famous ‘king’s College London’. The ‘Chancery Lane’, well known for purchases of Legal gear, is nearby.

I, being a lawyer myself, have naturally been driven to draw comparisons between our own Punjab and Haryana high court and the ‘Royal Courts of Justice’ and so have been visiting these courts in almost all my visits to England, since 2003. Of course the first thing that strikes you, as you step in, is the huge and very majestic foyer, with its tall arches and the vaulted ceiling. The second thing one cannot help noticing is the absence of teeming crowds. One sees neither the large number of clients nor the hoards of lawyers; one is so accustomed to seeing here. In fact I was slightly disappointed in not finding the place busy enough on my last visit to the ROYAL COURTS in July 2018. The courts start functioning at 9:30 A.M., there is an airport like security check and thereafter one is directed to a front desk where, if a visitor has a court appearance, he is very politely guided to the court room concerned or if one is simply visiting, he is guided to the courts of his interest. The corridors look plush but almost empty. As you step inside a court room, you not only cannot help noticing the very woody but elegant layout but also the hushed silence. There always is a visitor’s gallery where people sit quietly and watch. I always tried to look at the ‘cause list’ before entering a court room and did not find any court room where more than three matters were listed, mostly there would only be a single case listed.

The lawyers come very well prepared and would argue for hours, often the whole day. Interestingly, in none of my visits, all these years, I ever found anyone praying for an adjournment. The judges are extremely patient, respectful and polite towards lawyers. They seldom interrupt a lawyer in the flow of his arguments, as questions from the bench are rare and very polite when necessary. A QC (Queen’s Counsel) is what a designated Senior Counsel is here in India. They are more conservatively dressed than Barristers and support wigs on their heads. Again interestingly the gown worn here by designated Senior Counsels is also worn in Royal Courts of Justice in England by their Court Masters (read “Court Readers”).

Since the time I started practicing law back in 1980s, I have very often come across a query as to what is that pouch like piece of cloth hanging from the back of the gown, worn by lawyers in the High Court, for? There were many theories but the one to the effect that it was meant to pay his fee was closest to the truth. There is a section in Royal Courts of Justice, which houses a museum of Legal history of sorts. There is displayed in a casing there an ancient “Barrister’s hood” with a note reading thus, ‘’The appendage on the left shoulder of the Bar gown is commonly reputed to have been a receptacle in which a grateful client could slip an honorarium without embarrassment...” See the picture. (It is a rare picture as photography without permission is prohibited). It is also mentioned in the information note that the gown and its styling comes to the present times from 1685 and that it essentially is a mourning gown. In the context of the present day it makes some sense to me; as a lawyer of one side of almost every case comes out of the court room, mourning over his loss.

Advocate Sudeep Mahajan

H.N. 1546, Sector 36-D, Chandigarh

Mobile: +91-9814025102

This article was published in the Times of India on 25th April 2019 - https://epaper.timesgroup.com/

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