Case No. UKUT-00542-(IAC)

[2014] UKUT 105 (IAC). The fair hearing principle may be viewed as the unification of the two common law maxims audi alteram partem and nemo judex in causa sua , which combine to form the doctrine of natural justice, as it w a s formerly known . These two maxims are, nowadays, frequently expressed in the terms of a right and a prohibition, namely the litigant’s right to a fair hearing and the prohibition which precludes a Judge from adjudicating in a case in which he has an interest. 7. Further refinements of the fair hearing principle have resulted in the development of the concepts of apparent bias and actual bias. The latter equates with the prohibition identified immediately above. In contrast, apparent bias, where invoked, gives rise to a somewhat more sophisticated and subtle challenge. It entails the application of the following test: “ The question is whether the fair minded observer, having considered the facts, would conclude that there was a real possibility that the tribunal was bias. ” See