ABSTRACT
The courts distinguish between the procedural requirements which are mandatory, the breach of which will render a decision void, and those which are directory, which may not invalidate the decision taken. The Court of Appeal reconsidered judicial bias in the Locabail Ltd v Bayfield Properties Ltd cases. Judges – as with any other person – may exhibit bias by virtue of race, sex, politics, background, association and opinions. A decision-making body is under a ‘general duty’ to give reasons, and any departure from the requirement to give reasons will require sound justification. The Court of Appeal moved beyond the traditional test of procedural impropriety, thereby developing the law relating to legitimate expectations. The duty to give reasons was considered by the Court of Appeal in Oakley v South Cambridgeshire District Council. Breach of natural justice, which includes an aspect of procedural impropriety, is an increasingly important concept in ensuring fairness in the administrative process.
