... century, the law-making role of judges has dramatically expanded... Increasingly, it is invading the domain of social policy, formerly the exclusive right of Parliament and the legislatures' (Law Quarterly Review, 1994, p.260). The convention once was that the decisions by courts never really created new law at all - the judges were simply "finding" the law in earlier cases and were "declaring" what it was; today, though, there are few lawyers who will still adhere to this somewhat fictional view of the judicial function. Whether we like it or not, judges do make law. (The Legal System of Northern Ireland, Third Edition, Brice Dickson, page 62) There are a number of different courts and tribunals in which a wide variety of disputes are resolved. The judges play an extremely important role in the administration of both criminal and civil justice. Judges are required to: (a) Supervise the conduct of trials; (b) Make decisions ...

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