Judges often determine the moral direction of a nation, through the judgements they hand down, especially in respect of matters such as the possession of pornography and the abuse of women and children.

This is the opinion of High Court Judge Bernard Ngoepe, a former Turfloop law graduate, who returned to his alma mater this week to present a thought-provoking public lecture. He said judges were answerable to the public, and therefore had to give reasons for the decisions they made.

With several controversial judgements featuring prominently in the media lately, Judge Ngoepe's address somehow struck a familiar chord with the large audience of students and faculty members at the University of Limpopo. After the lecture, they raised a number of questions on key aspects of the law.

Judge Ngoepe referred briefly to the highly publicised Jacob Zuma trial, pointing out that the verdict of Judge van der Merwe had been a topic for wide debate. While he was not prepared to comment on the judgment, he suggested various principles which would have been considered in the process leading up to the delivery of this particular verdict.

"Judges are ordinary people, but also endowed with judicial skills - they listen to all the evidence, and weigh up the probablities, while also using their intellectual abilities, before making a judgement," he said.

Judge Ngoepe said very few judges were influenced by sheer numbers of witnesses, and they usually proved their independence, as well as a unique brand of arrogance, by refusing to take orders from anyone, least of all the government. He pointed out that the salaries of judges were not paid by the Department of Justice, but came directly from the national revenue fund, boosted by taxpayers’ money.

He urged the public to take a keener interest in public affairs involving judges, and also to make comments and ask questions about the actions of these highly placed legal men.

"If you should ask me whether I have ever been worried about delivering possible wrong judgements, I will tell you I never give wrong judgements," he remarked, to the great amusement of the audience.