20 June 2013 / Rowan Pennington-Benton , James Guthrie KC

Issue: 7565 / Categories: Features , Public

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Lesage sets out what will hopefully be accepted as the correct approach to cases of apparent bias, say James Guthrie QC & Rowan Pennington-Benton

The doctrine of apparent bias requires that judges be free not only from subjective personal bias or prejudice, but also from potential public perception of the same. Tribunals must appear in an objective sense to be truly independent and impartial. This perception is essential to maintaining public confidence in the judiciary and the legal system as a whole. The legal system is a central social good in any successful state. Its substantive, as well as apparent, integrity is an important matter.

Porter v Magill

With this in mind, the House of Lords in Porter v Magill [2002] 2 AC 357, [2002] 1 All ER 465, rejected the previous tests of “reasonable likelihood” and “real danger” of apparent bias on the basis that they tended to place too much emphasis on the court’s assessment of the facts, rather than public perceptions. It is, after all, these

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How does it look?

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

170886798

Lesage sets out what will hopefully be accepted as the correct approach to cases of apparent bias, say James Guthrie QC & Rowan Pennington-Benton

The doctrine of apparent bias requires that judges be free not only from subjective personal bias or prejudice, but also from potential public perception of the same. Tribunals must appear in an objective sense to be truly independent and impartial. This perception is essential to maintaining public confidence in the judiciary and the legal system as a whole. The legal system is a central social good in any successful state. Its substantive, as well as apparent, integrity is an important matter.

Porter v Magill

With this in mind, the House of Lords in Porter v Magill [2002] 2 AC 357, [2002] 1 All ER 465, rejected the previous tests of “reasonable likelihood” and “real danger” of apparent bias on the basis that they tended to place too much emphasis on the court’s assessment of the facts, rather than public perceptions. It is, after all, these

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content

If you are already a subscriber sign in

...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

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Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners

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Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process

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Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’

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A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’

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