Huge changes have taken place in Irish society over the past 10-15 years, and many controversial policy decisions which have resulted in those changes, have been provided for by legal interpretation. This pamphlet asks whether that situation is a healthy one for the Irish polity. Is it democratic? Are the politicians using the courts to avoid public controversy for their own political ends? David Gwynn Morgan ask these questions and offers ideas which might be used for the redefinition of the role of the judiciary as they confront matters of national policy.