Ruling on recusal case led by Ivan Dimitrov featured in the Times (1 August 2022)

A case instructed by Ivan Dimitrov sheds light on the issue of when a judge should raise the fact they were considering referring counsel to the Bar Standards Board (BSB), the Times’ Law Report has said.

The Court of Appeal ruling in AZ (A Child) (Recusal) holds that it would rarely be appropriate for the matter to be raised during the hearing, and it is better to wait until after its conclusion.

Judges dismissed a mother’s appeal against a decision by Mr Justice Keehan in the Family Division in which he refused her application to recuse himself on the grounds of ‘bias’ from the final hearing in long-running Children Act 1989 proceedings concerning A, her four-year old son.

The application alleged that the judge had bullied her counsel during the hearing when he stated that he was considering referring them to the BSB.

A statement by a judge that they were considering referring counsel to the BSB was a strong form of admonition and could have an impact on the case, and should rarely be raised in the middle of a hearing.

In instances when conduct had to be raised during a hearing, judges should consider carefully when and how to raise the matter.

However, the Court of Appeal, held that ‘judges were human’ and incidents could occur which they could have handled better, but these did not necessarily amount to bullying.

Duncan Lewis Solicitors' Family and Child Care caseworker Ivan Dimitrov instructed counsels Shiva Ancliffe QC and Sham Uddin for the appellant.

Times subscribers can read the story on the newspaper's website.