disqualification of judges

7/26/2019 Disqualification of Judges

1/19

Disqualification of a Judge P a g e | 1Who is a judge?

Defnitely, as we

encounter such term,

we would picture out

someone who is

wearing a black robe

and holding a gavel.

However, theres a

more defnite

meaning as to what really a judge is. As written in the A.M. o.

!"#!$#!%#&' AD()*+ *H- - '(D- (/ 01D+'+A2 '(D1'*

/(3 *H- )H+2+))+- 01D+'+A34, under the defnition o5 terms, a

60udge7 is defned as someone or any person who e8ercises

judicial power regardless o5 mode o5 designation or appointment.

+n technical understanding, they are the ones who settle legal

issues arising out o5 the cases which are fled under their sala or

jurisdiction. 0udges are the individuals in our judicial system who

are given various responsibilities and obligations in order to carry

out justice and 5air trial in every possible circumstances. A judge

is someone who is clothed with judicial authority to hear and

decide litigated 9uestions according to law. He is a man o5

learning who spends tirelessly the weary hours a5ter midnight

ac9uainting himsel5 with the great body o5 traditions and learningthe law.%He is also someone who should be o5 strict protection o5

that public trust that has been bestowed in him upon his

assumption o5 his judicial position.

*he word 6judge is employed to designate a public o:cer

selected to preside and to administer law in a court o5 justice.;+n

line with this, a judge is e8pected to be someone who is

possessing the 5ollowing characteristics< just, impartial, 5earless

o5 public clamor, conscientious, studious, thorough, courteous,

patient, punctual and, regardless o5 private in=uence, should

administer justice according to the law and should deal with the

patronage o5 the position as a public trust> and should not allow

1 2egal and 0udicial -thics ?@th-dition by Agpalo, ;!!B ?p. C!2 'ollector o5 'ustoms vs. EillaluF, % &'3A ;$C ?%BC


2/19

Disqualification of a Judge P a g e | 2outside matter or his private interests to inter5ere with the

prompt and proper per5ormance o5 his o:ce. "+n every particular

his conduct should be reproach.G He is considered as the

representation o5 justice that this judicial system have been

longing. He is someone who should have the highest standard o5

integrity re9uired o5 a public o:cer, importantly, a man o5

justice.

Disqualifcation: Compulsory or Voluntary

A judge may be dis9ualifed either compulsorily or

voluntarily. 'ompulsory dis9ualifcation is provided 5or by 3ule

%", &ection %, par.% o5 the 3ules o5 'ourt and 'anon ", &ection $

o5 the ew 'ode o5 0udicial 'onduct. Eoluntary Dis9ualifcation is

provided 5or by &ection %, par.; o5 the 3ules o5 'ourt. +n laymans

term , people usually associate the words delicadeFa,

prejudice, bias, hostility or con=ict o5 interest to 9uestion

the credibility and the 9ualifcation o5 a judge to hear a particular

case. +t can be said then that a judge could voluntarily dis9uali5y

himsel5 5rom hearing a case on any just and valid ground such

as< bias or prejudice> e8pression by him o5 opinions which may

lead the adverse party to doubt his impartiality> personal

knowledge o5 the case> and a:nity or 5ormer association withone o5 the parties or the latters counsel.

Distinction between Mandatory or Compulsory

Disqualifcation and Voluntary Inhibition

Disqualifcation Inhibition*he 3ules enumerates the

specifc and e8clusive grounds

under which any judge or

judicial o:cer is dis9ualifed

5rom acting as such.

*he 3ules does not e8pressly

enumerate the specifc grounds

5or inhibition but merely gives a

broad basis thereo5, i.e. good,

sound or ethical grounds.

3 2egal and 0udicial -thics ?@th-dition by Agpalo, ;!!B ?p. C!4 'anon "%, 'anons o5 0udicial -thics ?Administrative (rder o. %C;,

Department o5 0ustice, August %, %BGC> )aF vs. *iong, ;$" &'3A "CG ?%BBC


3/19

Disqualification of a Judge P a g e | 33ules give the judicial o:cer

no discretion to try or sit in a

case.

3ules leave the matter o5

inhibition to the sound

discretion o5 the judge.

Compulsory Disqualifcation o a !udge under the "ules o

Court

&ection %, 3ule %" o5 3ules o5 'ourt provides 5or conviction to lie, it must be proven that the judgment is

unjust and that the judge knows that it is unjust. &he could only

be as she is hereby 5ound, guilty o5 gross ignorance o5 the law

and grave misconduct.

; 3espondent 0udge took cogniFance o5 and decided

&pecial )roceedings o. "BGC, a petition 5or correction o5 entry in

the birth record o5 her grandson, the child o5 her daughter,

violation 3ule %". &he also dispensed with the re9uired

publication o5 the petition which sought to correct the entry o5

the subjectJs citiFenship 5rom the stated 6/ilipino7 to 6American7.

VI++'+%. (s) MI!'"/#

;@@ &'3A $BG, April ", %BB@

,acts:

3etired 0ustice o5 the 'ourt o5 Appeals (no5re EillaluF


7/19

Disqualification of a Judge P a g e | 7charged 0udge )riscilla Mijares, incumbent 0udge o5 the 3*' o5

)asay 'ity, with dishonesty, corrupt practices, grave misconduct

and immorality.

0udge Mijares allegedly took cogniFance o5 and decided

&pecial )roceedings o. "BGC, a petition 5or correction o5 entry in

the birth record o5 her grandson, 0oshua Anthony M. urango, the

child o5 her daughter Ma. )ilita M. urango, notwithstanding such

close relationship. &he also dispensed with the re9uired

publication o5 the petitioner which sought to correct the entry o5

thr subjectJs citiFenship 5rom the stated 6/ilipino7 to 6American7.

-eld:

3espondent is clearly dis9ualifed 5rom trying the case under

&ec. %, 3ule %", 3ules o5 'ourt and also under 3ule ".%; ?d,

'anon " o5 the 'ode o5 0udicial 'onduct. Leing related within the

si8th degree o5 consanguinity to one o5 the parties ?petitioner in

&pecial proceedings o. B"GC, it was mandatory 5or respondent

to have inhibited hersel5 5rom hearing the case. hile

respondent or her daughter may not have pecuniary interest in

the case as heir, legatee, creditor or otherwise, which is her

contention 5or her e8culpation, what is violated in &ec.% o5 3ule

%" was her taking cogniFance o5 the case despite herrelationship to a party within the si8th degree o5 consanguinity or

a:nity.

+n 0arcia () De +a *ena, %;B &'3A C ?%BBG we

e8pounded on the rationable behind the rule on compulsory

dis9ualifcation o5 judges in this wise

c the judges ruling in the lower court is the subject o5

review>

d the judge is related by consanguinity or a:nity to a

party litigant within the si8th degree or to counsel

within the 5ourth degree>

e the judge knows that the judges spouse or child has afnancial interest, as heir, legatee, creditor, fduciary, or

otherwise, in the subject matter in controversy or in a party to

the proceeding or any other interest that could be substantially

aIected by the outcome o5 the proceeding.

+n every instance the judge shall indicate the legal reason

5or dis9ualifcation. Accordingly, 3ule ".%; o5 the 'ode o5 0udicial

'onduct will then be understood as in a courts decision that the

re5usal o5 a judge to dis9uali5y himsel5 5rom sitting in an action

constitutes reversible error.

A 0udge has the duty not only to render a just and impartial

decision, but also to render it in such a manner as to be 5ree 5rom


11/19

Disqualification of a Judge P a g e | 11any suspicion as to its 5airness and impartiality, and also as to

the judges integrity. /or all suitors are entitled to nothing short

o5 the cold neutrality o5 an independent, wholly 5ree,

disinterested, and impartial tribunal. *he due process cannot be

satisfed in the absence o5 that objectivity on the part o5 the

judge su:cient to reassure litigants o5 his being 5air and just.

$) &ias or *rejudice

At common law, however, a judge could not be dis9ualifed

because o5 bias, e8cept inso5ar as such bias might be in5erred

5rom the 5act o5 his pecuniary interest in the cause. evertheless,

as the common law e8panded, judicial bias was added to the list

o5 available grounds 5or seeking judicial dis9ualifcation, both by

'ongress and by the legislatures o5 most states.

+n the )hilippines, the legislature opted to consider bias as

an e8pressly stated ground o5 voluntary dis9ualifcation as the

laws applied within this direction is patterned be5ore American

system.

+n many cases in which a party or attorney seeks to

dis9uali5y a judge, the record is simple. /or e8ample, the judge is

either related to a litigating party or not. Di:cult problems may

arise in those cases in which dis9ualifcation is sought not on thebasis o5 judicial relationships or interest but on the grounds o5

perceived judicial bias or some other incapacity to 5airly sit.

+ndeed, while the e8pansion o5 the common law to permit judicial

dis9ualifcation 5or NbiasN has generally been applauded, this

e8pansion has injected into judicial dis9ualifcation jurisprudence

some o5 its most pro5ound issues.

+t should be noted that not every un5avorable opinion that

a judge may hold toward an individual or his case is properly

described by the term Nbias.N (n the contrary, bias connotes a

disposition that is somehow wrong5ul or inappropriate either

because it is undeserved, because it rests on knowledge that the

judge ought not to possess, or because it is e8cessive in degree.


12/19

Disqualification of a Judge P a g e | 12A judge who presides at a criminal trial may, upon conclusion o5

the evidence, be e8ceedingly ill#disposed toward a de5endant

who has been shown to be a thoroughly reprehensible human

being. evertheless, because the judgeJs knowledge and the

opinion it produced were properly and necessarily ac9uired in the

course o5 the judicial proceeding itsel5, such judge is ordinarily

not deemed to be subject to dis9ualifcation 5or NbiasN on this

account.%%

A judge, moreover, must shrewdly observe the stratagems

o5 the opposing lawyers, perceive their eIorts to sway him by

appeals to his predilections, and penetrate through the sur5ace o5

their remarks to their real purposes and motives. +n 5act, judges

may have an obligation to become in that sense Nbiased.N

'onse9uently, the 9uestion whether judges should be

subject to dis9ualifcation 5or NbiasNOand just how biased they

must be in order to be subject to this sanctionOhas introduced

into judicial dis9ualifcation law what is perhaps its thorniest

9uestion< )recisely how human may a judge be and still be

permitted to judgeP

$)3 +imitations on &ias as a 0round or Disqualifcation

*here is little disagreement, in principle, that a judge

conscious o5 any bias that might in=uence his o:cial action,

either against or in 5avor o5 any party to a proceeding pending

be5ore him, should decline to o:ciate over that proceeding

whether he has been challenged or not. However, because o5 the

imprecision and potential 5or abuse inherent in permitting

dis9ualifcation 5or bias, a number o5 courts have imposed

limitations on the type and degree o5 bias that a judge must

possess be5ore dis9ualifcation will be ordered on this ground.

113ichard -. /lamm, -s9., +ntroduction to 0udicial Dis9ualifcation &el5#&tudyArticle Q &el5#Assessment *est http


13/19

Disqualification of a Judge P a g e | 13+t has 5re9uently been held, 5or e8ample, that, to be

dis9uali5ying, the alleged bias must be personal, as opposed to

judicial, in nature. +n addition, to be dis9uali5ying bias must

ordinarily be o5 a character that is su:cient to overthrow the

presumption as to the judgeJs impartiality, and, there5ore,

su:cient to deny a partyOparticularly a criminal de5endantOa

5air hearing or trial.

3) Impartiality

hile parties are not entitled to a judge with a liberal or

generous attitude,##or to one who is 5avorably disposed to their

cause,##it is generally agreed, at least in principle, that they are

entitled to nothing less than a neutral and detached decision#

maker, operating in an atmosphere o5 total 5airness and

impartiality.%;

2) *ersonal 4nowledge o the case

A judge is not allowed to pass judgment on the basis o5 his

personal knowledge o5 the case that he may have had prior to

the case being presented to him in court. /or instance, it maybe

that the judge overheard a man divorce his wi5e. however, i5 this

case is then brought be5ore him in court with the man claiming

he did not divorce her, the judge cannot use his prior knowledge

to decide the case. he must limit himsel5 to the evidence

presented in court. +5 he 5eels that he cannot do so under the

circumstances, he should re5use to preside over the case.%"

5) '6nity and 'ssociation

+n law and in cultural anthropology, a:nity, as

123ichard -. /lamm, -s9., Dis9ualifcation 5or Lias or its Appearance &el5#&tudyArticle Q &el5#Assessment *est http


14/19

Disqualification of a Judge P a g e | 14distinguished 5rom consanguinity, is kinshipby marriage. +t is the

relation which each party to a marriage bears to the kindred o5

the other. +n -nglish, a:nity is usually signifed by adding N #in#

lawN to the degree o5 kinship. +n addition to kinship by marriage,

Na:nityN can sometimes also include kinship by adoption.%G

Association subse9uently, is the inter relation o5 one to

another there5ore establishing a connection that would

determine ties. *hus, when a judge who is known to be

associated to a party or the partys counsel is e8pected to

dis9uali5y himsel5 5rom sitting in the course o5 the hearing 5or

5ailure to dis9uali5y himsel5 would be an establishment o5 bias,

bad 5aith, malice or corrupt purpose, in addition to palpable error

which may be in5erred 5rom the decision or order itsel5.

*rocedure or Disqualifcation

*he Lill o5 3ights, under &ection %G?% Article +++, %B@

)hilippine 'onstitution guarantees that No person shall be held

to answer 5or a criminal oIense without due process o5 law.N, +t is

there5ore considered a critical component o5 due process to any

litigants to be heard be5ore an impartial and disinterested

tribunal and a 5air and just judicial o:cer. As a sa5eguard to this

paramount right o5 any litigants or accused, even 5orcomplainants, the 3ules o5 'ourt provided an e8press provision in

which a judge may be dis9ualifed 5rom hearing a case. rounds

in which a judge may be dis9ualifed 5rom handling or hearing a

case are laid down under &ection % o5 3ule %" o5 the 3ules o5

court. +n any event a judge should be dis9ualifed 5rom

inter5ering or hearing a case, either by voluntary o5 involuntary

act, this procedure should be 5ollowed

disqualification of judges

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