ministries, local councils and other public authorities do not want to have to justify their decisions in open court.
Since last June we have published two important reports on the investigation and remedying of individual grievances. The first dealt with complaints against nationalised industries and statutory agencies. It recommended the strengthening of Consultative Councils and the appointment of a Nationalised Industries and Agencies Commissioner to reinforce their work. It was widely acclaimed and has had a wide sale. The second, aptly entitled Our Fettered Ombudsman, reviewed the work of the Parliamentary Commissioner and made a number of proposals designed to make him more accessible to the ordinary citizen and to widen the area of his jurisdiction. I particularly welcome the proposal for direct access without the need to channel a complaint through an M.P. I opposed this restriction during the Committee stage of the Bill and any need for it which was thought to exist at the time has long since disappeared.
A great deal of time has been devoted by the Council and specially appointed working parties to the preparation of evidence for submission to the Royal Commission on Legal Services. This has already been sub- mitted and will be printed and published in the near future. The theme which runs through all our recommendations is that the legal system should be designed and run for the benefit of those who use it and not for those who administer it.
One of the great mainstays of JUSTICE has been Geoffrey Garrett, who has given up the chairmanship of the Executive Committee on his retirement to the country. He joined the Council in 1959, became Vice- Chairman of the Executive Committee in 1965, and was Chairman from 1972 to 1976. He applied himself assiduously and with critical acumen to the more difficult problems of JUSTICE. Many of the important documents produced in his period of office were drafted or revised by him. He undertook many overseas visits for the International Commission of Jurists. One of his most distinguished tasks was his report on events in Cyprus where he dealt tactfully but realistically with the complex characters involved, including the Archbishop. An outstanding accomplishment in the cause he serves was the single-handed compilation and editing, in September last, of a special issue of the Guardian Gazette devoted to every aspect of the problem of safeguarding human rights. We all thank him and wish him well.
Over all these years our successes are really due to the skill and devotion of our Secretary, Tom Sargant. It is difficult to recall that he is not a lawyer by profession-he started his career in a gold refinery, but he now combines an expert knowledge of procedural law with a helpful cynicism about the working of legal institutions and the accomplish- ments of lawyers. His services to law reform are now being recognised by the grant by Queen's University, Belfast of an Honorary Master of Laws Degree.
I would like to add sincere thanks to our Legal Secretary, Ronald Briggs, who combines a wide legal knowledge with an attractive and formidable argumentativeness on the committees which he serves and assists. Our Director of Research, Alec Samuels, enthusiastically guides
5