Case No. UKUT-00655-(IAC)

[2015] UKUT 54, the interaction of most litigants and witnesses with the judicial system is a transient one. Indeed, it is normally confined to a single litigation experience. I repeat what was said in Aluban k udi at [14]: “ The interface between the judiciary and society is of greater importance nowadays than it has ever been. In both the conduct of hearings and the compilation of judgments, Judges must have their antennae tuned to the immediate and wider audiences … it is of seminal importance that the fairness, impartiality and detached objectivity of the judicial office holder are manifest from beginning to end. ” To this I would add that the importance of appearances, impression and perceptions must never be underestimated. 9. I would, how e ver, hold unequivocally that questions and comments of the kind detailed at [2](a) , (c) and (d) above are improper. As regards the second of these two mat t ers, it was plainly inappropriate to ask the Appellant or his spouse why the medical expert who had compiled the report in question had no t detailed the relevant medication. The Judge, of course, could not have prevented this question from being asked. However, the intervention which he had made immediately beforehand suffices to indicate that he was discharging his duty of fairness to both parties. As regards the first and third of these matters, fairness did not