Northern Ireland’s Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan received a warm welcome in Scotland last night when he delivered the biennial Jean Clark lecture at the University of Dundee and reflected on the role of the judiciary in a modern democracy.

Opening his lecture, Sir Declan praised the Scottish university for producing a strong cohort of Northern Ireland lawyers and also described the recent outright hostility displayed by some sections of the press towards the judiciary as “depressing”.

Noting the changing role of the Lord Chancellor, the impact of the UK Supreme Court, European law and the Human Rights Act, Sir Declan went on to examine the challenges and complexities faced by a judiciary charged with striking a balance between private and public interests — challenges made all the more complex in a jurisdiction like Northern Ireland which has a strong faith background and where the courts have been called upon to rule on abortion rights and the cases known colloquially as the “gay blood” case, the “gay adoption” case, and the “gay cake” case.

The lecture, organised by the charity endowed by Jean Clark to support legal education, was attended by Scotland’s Lord President Lord Carloway, Lord Malcolm, Lord Kincavel, Dame Sue Black and Sheriffs Lindsay Foulis and Lorna Drummond. The event was chaired by Roy Martin QC.