Fishing and Judicial Activism

The role of the courts, and the extent to which judges assume an activist approach to their role, are matters of occasional public debate. In a Family Law Journal editorial on the subject, Principal Family Court Judge Peter Boshier referred to a paper he had presented to the 1998 Family Law Conference. It had received publicity, especially as it amounted to judgeinitiated debate on the law. Calling for creative interpretation of matrimonial property legislation, he said, “This will of course involve social policy issues. After all, what would the public rather have: a statute firmly set in the social mores of the 1970s or a statute that lives and evolves with our society? Law does not exist in a vacuum, but is an evolutionary process. Development of the law is dependent on counsel being prepared to push boundaries, and challenge judges to find ways to flesh the bones of the Act and do justice to all parties.” (pp.58-9