Impartiality of a judge is determined by two tests, subjective and objective. (Campos). The UNDT considered that the request for recusal was based on mere fact and no such conflict of interest or professional relationship existed between the honourable Judge and the two Thai nationals named.
The Applicant’s request for recusal was not receivable and did not warrant a referral to the President of the Tribunal for determination. The Applicant’s claims were all of a substantive nature and would have been more appropriately dealt with by an appellate Tribunal. There was nothing to rectify or correct in the judgment as none of the particulars listed in the application were related to any errors.
The members of the IJC were informed that the Applicant’s cases had been transferred to the UNDT from the Joint Appeals Board and that they may have had an interest to join in as parties in the case, pursuant to Article 11 of the Rules of Procedure. The information communicated to the members of the IJC could not be construed as amounting to any impropriety, less still a conflict of interest, within the meaning of Article 27 of the Rules of Procedure. The application was rejected because it was merely a repetition of the application dismissed by Judgment No. UNDT/2009/005.
