Counsel Magazine

“The truth is that publicly perceived and generally accepted social and moral standards change, and, within limits, the legislature and the courts must reflect those changes, if they are to retain democratic relevance and public confidence”, said the new Master of the Rolls, Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, at the 2009 Denning Lecture.

Speaking on the topic of “Rights and Responsibilities: Civic Duty and the Rule of Law”, Lord Neuberger stressed the importance of performing a balancing act. “What a sixty years it has been”, he noted since Lord Denning himself defined freedom in 1949 as “the freedom of every law-abiding citizen to think what he will, to say what he will, and to go where he will on his lawful occasion without let or hindrance from other persons”.