Apprehended bias and interlocutory judgments

Abstract

In 2011, the High Court handed down judgments in two cases that raised a similar issue: the risk that an interlocutory judgment can create an appearance of bias on the pan of a judge. This issue highlights the tension between, on the one hand, the principle that judges must be, and appear to be, impartial; and, on the other, the changes to the judicial role brought about by the demands of efficiency. This article uses the two cases as a basis for examining the way in which the bias rule currently operates in relation to interlocutory judgments. It concludes that the current approach places undue emphasis on a risk of prejudgment of specific matters, and advocates a widening of locus in the application of the test for apprehended bias.