Natural Justice: Rules Against Bias Flashcards
The Rule Against Bias
Concerned that government decision makers do not have a personal interest in decisions. (Dr Bonhams Case)
Sub-heads of the Rule against Bias
The Rule Against Actual Bias
The Rule Against Judging in one’s own Court
The Rule Against Pecuniary Interests
The Rule against Appearance of Bias
It is of fundamental importance that justice should not only be done but should be undoubtedly be seen to be done
Lord Hewett.
ex p McCarthy
- solicitor as a part time clerk to the justices sat in a case with a defendant who was a client of his law firm.
Appearance of Bias
Importance to avoid appearance of such interest
Dimes v Grand Junction Canal Proprietors
- the Lord Chancellor had a small share in a canal company
A judge who has a financial interest is subject to ‘automatic disqualification from the case concerned’
R v Rand
There has to be a real likelihood of bias, not merely suspicion
Lord Hewart: R v Barnsley Licensing Justices, ex p Licensed Victualler’s Association.
- grant of a license to sell alcohol to the co-operative society, of which all the justices were members.
The test for bias was whether there was a real danger of bias
Lord Goff: a danger was a possibility rather than a probabiliyt.
R v Gough
Lord Goff: dropping of the previous reasonable person test. i.e. a suspicion.
There is now a thorough investigation - which the reasonable person would not be able to do.
ex p Pinochet Uragte
The solicitors received an anonymous phone call pointing out that Hoffman was an unpaid director of Amnesty International.
Lord Hoffman was disqualified.
- the expansion of a pecuniary interest into any form of interest.
Locabail v Bayfield
Judge was a partner in a firm which was acting for a suing client.
C of A found the link to be too tenuous
Re Medicaments
What would a fair and impartial observer would think if they were in possession of the facts.
The Court indicated that it could see little scope for assuming that any credible suspicion of bias could arise simply because a judge and a party’s lawyers had a pre-existing professional relationship
Taylor v Lawrence
What happens when a decision maker has inalienable interests suggesting appearance of bias but at the same time has a duty to make a decision.
R v Sevenoaks District Council, ex p Terry
- the rule against the appearance of bias is discarded and instead the test is downgraded to one derived form abuse of discretion principles.
Bias in non-judicial proceedings
Roberts v Hopwood
- Bias would be found in the concillor’s evident embrace of ‘eccentric principles of socialist philanthropy’ and ‘feminist ambition’, motives which the House of Lords Considered wholly improper.
A decision maker was not ‘biased’ simply because she formulated policy in accordance with her pre-existing political beliefs.
Franklin v Minister of Town and Country Planning
