New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

New Zealand Case Law

Apparent bias test
  • 26 Feb 2010

    SIEMER V SOLICITOR-GENERAL SC 48/2009

    Citation
    SIEMER V SOLICITOR-GENERAL SC 48/2009
    Court
    Supreme Court

    The recusal application was dismissed because the association (the judge's husband and the chairman of Vector serving on the same company board) without specific, substantial evidence of the chairman's influence or control was too speculative to lead a fair-minded, informed observer to reasonably apprehend that the Chief Justice would be unconsciously biased; the appellant failed to discharge the onus of proof and a judge cannot be required to disclose matters outside her direct knowledge.