NO one would envy the decision he had to make, but many will applaud the humanity displayed by Lord Justice Alan Ward yesterday.

The legal debate which has raged over Siamese twins Jodie and Mary has raised many moral questions.

It has also been afflicted by the most inhuman legal jargon. Mary, in legal terms, is officially considered to be "unviable" as if she were an ill-fated business proposition. She has also been "designated for death" while Jodie has the right to defend herself against her sister.

Lord Justice Ward - one of three High Court judges who yesterday ruled that the twins must face surgery - provided a much-needed antidote to the language of law by talking movingly about the impossible question of who should live and who should die.

Breaking free from convention, he spoke of the "excrutiating dilemma" when he arrived at the court. He admitted to having lost sleep, and then put his job in context by saying: "Fifty per cent of the population will agree with the decision - 50 per cent will think we have gone potty."

A father of twins himself, he has a sharper perspective than most, and he was right to talk publicly about this heartbreaking tragedy which may now have to be considered by the House of Lords.

At a time when judges are often accused of being out of touch with ordinary people, Lord Justice Ward has done the image of the judiciary no harm.