In Pursuit of Justice: Examining the Intersection of Philosophy, Politics & Law

Oagile Bethuel Key Dingake

Apr 2020 · Notion Press

About this ebook

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.

About the author

Hon Professor Justice Dingake is a Judge of the Supreme and National Courts of Papua New Guinea in the Pacific, North of Australia. He is also a Judge of the Residual Special Court of Sierra Leone (RSCSL) appointed by the Secretary General of the United Nations in 2013.
The RSCSL is the Successor to the Special Court of Sierra Leone, which convicted Charles Taylor of War Crimes. The RSCSL is an International Criminal Court established by the United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone to preside over the gravest violations of international humanitarian law during the civil war that raged in Sierra Leone in the 1990’s.
Judge Dingake is a former Judge of the High Court and Industrial Court of Botswana. He also taught Law at the University of Botswana. He has also been a visiting scholar at the University of Pretoria, Cape Town and Institute of Development Labour Law, in Rome, Italy.
Judge Dingake has a PhD in Law from the University of Cape Town, an LLM from the University of London and an LLB from the University of Botswana.
In 2013, Justice Dingake won a bronze medal from an international organization: Women’s Link World Wide for promoting gender justice.