Bias and recusal: a practical guide for family practitioners

Una Graham, St Johns Buildings Chambers

This article discusses applications for a judge to recuse themselves following the appearance of bias. Such applications are of fundamental importance in maintaining the right to a fair trial.

The article analyses case law to highlight what apparent bias actually looks like in practice, the importance of recusal applications for public confidence in the justice system and when recusal will or will not be justified in certain scenarios.

To assist family law practitioners, this article also discusses the legal test for recusal applications and sets out a step-by-step guide to the required procedure.

The conclusion reached within this commentary is that robust judicial case management is still evolving and therefore the boundary between justified intervention and grounds for a recusal application must be sensitively approached.