held any personal prejudice or bias in a given case; and also according
to an objective test, that is to say by ascertaining whether the tribunal
itself and, among other aspects, its composition, offered sufficient
guarantees to exclude any legitimate doubt in respect of its
impartiality.”
126.
It is obvious that the complaint of the Applicant has to do with the
‘objective test’, and in the immediate preceding cited case, the Court further
held that:
“As to the objective test, it must be determined whether, quite apart
from the judge’s conduct, there are ascertainable facts which may raise
doubts as to his or her impartiality. This implies that, in deciding
whether in a given case there is a legitimate reason to fear that a
particular judge or a body sitting as a bench lacks impartiality, the
standpoint of the person concerned is important but not decisive. What
is decisive is whether this fear can be held to be objectively justified”
127.
The Respondent proffered argument that the Chief Justice even though
sat on previous matters relating to the impeachment of the Applicant, the cases
were not heard on merit but were determined at the preliminary measure. The
question then is whether those past judicial activities of the Chief Justice are
capable of grounding the Applicant’s apprehension of fear of bias without any
supportive factual circumstances.
128.
In The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) case of THE
PROSECUTOR v. JEAN-PAUL AKAYESU CASE NO. ICTR-96-4-A,
JUDGMENT, 1 JUNE 2001 (AKAYESU APPEAL JUDGMENT), the
Tribunal, in deciding on an appeal ground on impartiality held as follows:
51