A High Court judge has refused to recuse himself from managing a group of proceedings brought by Kevin Tracey and, in some cases, his wife Karen, against State bodies, the Courts Service and other defendants.
Mr Justice Robert Eagar ruled on the application after Tracey did not take part in the hearing. Tracey argued that another judge should decide whether Eagar should step aside. Eagar said the application was for him to decide in the first instance.
Tracey’s complaints included alleged unfairness in handling discovery, a disputed change to an order, and the case being placed in a jury list while he said discovery issues remained unresolved. He also alleged bias connected to the Courts Service. The Courts Service and State defendants opposed the application, saying the complaints did not establish objective bias and concerned case-management decisions that could be challenged through other procedures.
Eagar applied the test of whether a reasonable, informed person would have a reasonable apprehension that the judge would not decide impartially. He found there was no external basis for such an apprehension and said bias could not be inferred from dissatisfaction with procedural decisions or alleged errors within the process. He also noted that he had not known Tracey or the proceedings before being asked to manage them.
The judge refused to recuse himself. He said he had not yet concluded that the proceedings should be dismissed for further procedural failures, but that substantial further failures, considered alongside an earlier procedural failure identified by the Supreme Court, could potentially justify dismissal. He said that stage had not been reached.
The ruling concerns recusal and ongoing case management. Eagar said he would not hear the jury trials themselves and proposed to continue preparing the remaining cases for the jury list unless directed otherwise by the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court.