Partisan politics is the public face of democracy, the most visible manifestation of political liberty. It thrives in the Philippines. Yet in the Philippines and everywhere else, as we know, the liberty of partisan politics depends ultimately upon restraints imposed by law and by the authority of governing institutions. Few people understand this paradox of freedom better than Hilario G. Davide Jr., chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

The child of a mountain barrio in Cebu Province, Davide walked barefoot to school as a boy and worked his way through the University of the Philippines, passing the bar in 1959. He embarked upon a career in the law and, at thirty-seven, represented Cebu as a delegate to the 1971 Constitutional Convention. Shocked by martial law, he mobilized fellow Visayans to challenge the dictatorship. In 1978, his opposition party gained a small foothold in the Marcos-dominated Interim Batasang Pambansa, where Assemblyman Davide called for an end to martial law and sponsored bills opposing corruption and promoting electoral reforms.

As a member of President Corazon Aquino's Constitutional Commission following the People Power Revolution of 1986, Davide authored the articles governing the legislature in the new law of the land and also added this pathbreaking provision: "The State shall protect and advance the right of people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature." Davide then restored confidence in the electoral process as head of the Commission on Elections and, subsequently, led an exhaustive formal investigation into eight military-led attempts to overthrow the Aquino government.

Appointed to the Supreme Court in 1991, Davide made his mark as a hardworking jurist noted for meticulously argued opinions and a strict interpretation of the law. He wrote decisions strengthening the hand of the state against violators of the Philippine environment and, in one landmark case, asserted the right of children to sue for a healthy habitat both for themselves and for "generations yet unborn" - a decision that helped to save 800,000 hectares of the country's virgin rain forest.

Appointed chief justice in 1998 by President Joseph Estrada, Davide pledged to strengthen and reform the country's judiciary. He strove to isolate the appointment of judges from political favor and to raise standards for recruitment and performance. He disciplined erring judges and hastened the judicial process with advances in efficiency and time-saving alternatives such as mediation. And he continued to foster a preferential option for the environment. In all he did, Davide emphasized transparency and integrity and, in doing so, he enhanced the authority of the Court as the country's ultimate arbiter of justice.

The collapse of the Estrada presidency put this authority to the test. As presiding judge in the impeachment trial, Davide personified the dignity and impartiality of the constitution itself. And when the power struggle reached its climax and spilled into the streets, his timely intervention on behalf of "the welfare and will of the people" averted violence and brought the crisis to an end. The moral authority of the Supreme Court carried the day. But Davide's own reputation for integrity and independence also weighed heavily in legitimating the unprecedented transfer of power to a new president.

Sixty-six-year-old Davide is known to lead by example, keeping up earnestly with his own heavy workload and living modestly. Looking ahead, he says he will "leave politics to the politicians" and devote himself to judicial reform. About this work, his feelings run deep. As he says, "Administering justice is a sacramental task."