Two Supreme Tribunals

In a special article in the Hearst press, the Hon. James M. Beck, Solicitor General of the U. S., compared and contrasted the Supreme Court of the United States and England's Privy Council. These are the two leading tribunals of the civilized world. Mr. Beck, who won a case before the Privy Council last Summer, is said to have been the first American jurist to appear before Great Britain's highest judicial tribunal. He was compelled to wear a gown and wig.

In the Privy Council, five justices in business attire, in a 30-foot London room, decide legal rights affecting one-fourth of the world's population. The procedure is extremely simple and uncomplicated. Unlimited argument is allowed on cases before the court, and oftentimes immediate oral decisions are rendered to the waiting counsel. Mr. Beck said: "Of all courts that I have seen, it is the simplest in form and procedure." There are no formal or lengthy " briefs," although there is a printed summary of the essential facts and the legal points involved, which is called " the case." The arguments are often inordinately prolix. Mr. Beck quoted Lord Justice Atkin as saying:" English counsel too often speak for an hour without coming within hailing distance of the point in case."

One fundamental difference between the Supreme Court of the U. S. and the Privy Council is the difference in the size of the calendar. Comparatively few cases come before the Supreme English bench, whereas the U. S. Supreme Court has each year a thousand or more cases on its calendar. Mr. Beck states that the appeals to the Supreme Court are generally more difficult and complex, involve greater interests.

In the Privy Council, arguments are largely conversation, and counsel face the lord justices across a narrow table. In the Supreme Court, arguments are formal and often forensic, and the justices sit upon an elevated bench, with counsel standing at a considerable distance below.

American Supreme Court justices are named by the President, then confirmed by the Senate. They sit for life. They number nine. In the Privy Council, four or five judges are assigned from time to time by the Lord Chancellor. A Canadian judge is generally invited to sit in Canadian appeals, and an Indian justice, in appeals from India.