publications_unodc_commentary-e

2.3 A judge shall, so far as is reasonable, so conduct himselfor herself as to minimise the occasions on which it will benecessary for the judge to be disqualified from hearing ordeciding cases.CommentaryFrequent recusals should be avoided66. A judge must be available to decide the matters that come before the court.However, to protect the rights of litigants and preserve public confidence in theintegrity of the judiciary, there will be occasions when disqualification is necessary.On the other hand, frequent disqualification may bring public disfavour to the benchand to the judge personally, and impose unreasonable burdens upon the judge’scolleagues. Litigants may get the impression that they can pick and choose whichjudge will decide their case, and this would be undesirable. A judge should,therefore, organize his or her personal and business affairs in a way that minimizesthe potential for conflict with judicial duties.Conflicts of interest67. The potential for interests to conflict arises when the personal interests ofthe judge (or of those close to him or her) conflict with the judge’s duty toadjudicate impartially. Judicial impartiality is concerned both with impartiality infact and impartiality in the perception of a reasonable observer. In judicial matters,the test for conflict of interest must include both actual conflicts between the judge’sown interests and the duty of impartial adjudication, and the circumstances in whicha reasonable observer would (or might) reasonably apprehend a conflict. Forexample, although members of a judge’s family have every right to be politicallyactive, the judge should recognize that the political activities of close familymembers may, even if erroneously, adversely affect the public perception of his orher impartiality.Duty to reduce conflicts of interest arising from financial activity68. Similarly, a judge must not allow his or her financial activities to interferewith the duty to preside over cases that come before the court. Although somedisqualifications will be unavoidable, a judge must reduce unnecessary conflicts ofinterest that arise when the judge retains financial interests in organizations andother entities that appear regularly in court, by divesting himself or herself of suchinterests. For example, the mere ownership of one per cent or less of the outstandingstock in a publicly held corporation is usually considered to be a de minimis interest63