Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the advantages of ensuring that tribunal judges are subject to transparent and up-to-date declarations of interest comparable to those required of other public office holders and legislators.

The conduct of judges is a matter for the independent judiciary. It would therefore not be proper for the Government to require the publication of declarations of interest in relation to any court or type of judge. Doing so would risk undermining judicial independence.

All judges have taken an oath to act impartially. The Guide to Judicial Conduct sets out what this means in practice, stating that “judicial office holders should, so far as is reasonable, avoid extra-judicial activities that are likely to cause them to have to refrain from sitting because of a reasonable apprehension of bias or because of a conflict of interest that would arise from the activity”. The Guide then explains how parties to a case might approach applications to the court for the recusal of a judge because of a real or perceived conflict of interest.

Accordingly, the remit of the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office does not extend to complaints of bias in judicial decision-making. It can, however, investigate types of conduct such as the publication of “content which could damage public confidence in judicial impartiality”.

This means that although there is no register of judges’ interests, there are mechanisms in the court system and through the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office where issues about potential conflicts of interest can be raised.