Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Levitt on 28 May (HL95), how parties to a case would know to approach applications to the court for the recusal of a judge for a real or perceived conflict of interest when judges do not have to declare their interests.

Our judiciary has a worldwide reputation for conducting cases and making decisions independently, impartially and with integrity. The principles of no one being a judge in their own cause and of justice being not only done but also being seen to be done are long embedded in our justice system. Judges are expected to conduct themselves according to these principles and they must recuse themselves, as the Guide to Judicial Conduct puts it, “from any case where a fair-minded and informed observer, having considered the facts, would conclude that there was a real possibility that they would be biased”.

It is open to parties to seek legal advice about any perceived conflict of interest. It is equally open to unrepresented parties to conduct their own research and to raise any matters before the court. Whether there might be a need to make enquiries and the nature of those enquiries will depend on the issues in the case being litigated.