Recusal as a Guarantee for the Impartiality of the Ecclesiastical Court

Abstract

The article examines the mechanism of recusing a judge based on the principle of judicial independence in impartial administration of justice. First, attention is drawn to the reasons for recusal, followed by the conclusion that it involves a judge who is the object of a justified suspicion of bias. Next, the author presents the procedure of excluding a judge from adjudicating in a trial, with a special emphasis on the authority competent to conduct incidental proceedings for recusing a judge. Last, the consequences of accepting a request to recuse a judge are presented: the change of a judge, not of the degree of the trial, and the validity of procedural acts performed before and after an application for recusal has been filed. The author raises a number of questions and offers some clarification for the legislator on the mechanism of recusal. The institution of judicial recusal is a pillar and guarantee of a fair and impartial ecclesiastical process.