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Whilst we may point to faults in the administration of justice and criticise the odd judgment from time to time, we need to be ever grateful that this country benefits from one of the least corrupt and most impartial court systems in the world. The one overriding characteristic that we need judges to continue to display is an unqualified commitment to doing justice – impartially, fearlessly without bias and without any taint of corruption. But judges, like everyone else, are human beings with their own preferences and personal motivations. When exercising their judicial functions they must consciously rise above these things.

I am therefore very happy to see those who are Christian or subscribe to Christian values publicly kneeling before their maker (and the fount of justice in their own understanding) to ask for the wisdom and strength to uphold their individual commitments to doing justice in the way that all who come before them are entitled to expect. I would want those who are Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or of any other faith to subscribe to the same aim (as I am sure they would want to), in whatever way is most appropriate to their own expression of faith – and to welcome the fact that those judges who feel moved to do so, participate in a service that publicly expresses this.

For judges who are atheists, humanists or do not otherwise subscribe to any religious faith, their commitment to doing justice impartially is as vitally important for the fulfilling of their functions as it is for others whose outlook they do not share, and that is surely how it should be. Rather than seeking to tear down a ceremony for those who are Christian that best expresses their commitment to justice, why do the detractors not seek to promote the formal public expression by all judges of their unswerving commitment to the same value in the different ways that might best suit them? Perhaps a solemn promise without any religious overtones would suit atheist and humanist judges (as an affirmation is available to witnesses in court in place of an oath).

We should have nothing to fear from the transparency of those having a particular faith expressing their commitment to justice in a way that engages their faith. What we need to be wary of is a culture where faith and other sources of personal motivation are kept hidden from view, so that those engaging with the justice system are left in the dark.