Nobody would deny that in a considerable proportion of cases which come before a judge for decision, the law is clear, and indeed often undisputed by the parties. In these cases, the Judge's duty raises no special problem so far as the law is concerned, though it may do so as to the facts. But it is also true that there are a significant number of cases in which the law or at least its application, is unclear, and the nature of the judicial role is then more controversial. During the last few decades legal theorists and judges themselves have often discussed these questions in various public pronouncements. In this lecture I want to focus principally on a number of assumptions and views about the judicial role which appear to be largely peculiar to the English, or perhaps Commonwealth judiciary. But before I look more closely at the English judiciary, I would like to set the discussion into a broader theoretical framework.