Below we publish the full text of an open letter to Fiona Woolf on judicial bias and law in respect of 'Inquiries' Its a bit heavy going but worth reading it all.
It is not for nothing that survivors and activists raised their twitter banners in protest crying out that Woolf's appointment was an insult and a joke.
Indeed the Home Secretary Theresa May intended it to be an insult, Intended to demoralize the survivors. May has the best legal advisors money can buy she is also not without intelligence so the choice of Woolf was a deliberate attempt to say. Fuck of serfs! We claim the rights of lords of the manor and we can take your kids and rape them as we please.
These people Woolf and Brittan move in the same circles, they go to the same functions and parties, they live in the same street. Alderney Street in London where spy Gareth Williams met his death. Aldeney Street is a short walk from the Westminster Parliament and even shorter to MI6 headquarters.
Video showing MAY and WOOLF removed by State owned BBC today |
Not only that if you look into Woolf's business activities they smack of fraud. She uses many different names and has bank accounts in many different names all over the world, OK not a crime but the amounts in her accounts are enormous. Her real name is Mrs Catherine Fiona Woolf. But she rarely uses her real name. She mostly uses Fiona Woolf or Ms Catherine Woolf or Miss Catherine Fiona Woolf, or Miss Catherine Fiona Swain (her maiden name) of just Ms Fiona Swain, or Catherine Swain. We have found a multicurrency bank account in the Swiss Bank UBS in the name of Ms Fiona Woolf with a balance of over 5 million swiss franks. Her friend Leon Brittan QC is the Vice Chairman of UBS. What are Woolf and Brittan hiding is this the Proceeds of Crime? Could it be the profits from the global child porn network? Come on ask her?
Woolf was born in Edinburgh |
CSAInquiry: OPEN LETTER TO FIONA WOOLF ON BIAS
by
Dear Lady Woolf
Perceived bias: the law
I write to you as one solicitor to another and as one officer of the Supreme (‘Senior’) Court to another. I am aware of the concerns expressed in the press and other media at your appointment to chair an inquiry on the variety of the long-standing child abuse allegations. I write to you as one solicitor to another to ask you to say what is your side of the story in relation to published allegations about your personal and public relations with individuals who may be required to give evidence; and to ask you to reflect upon whether or not you can be said to be biased in the light of your own contacts and the people who may be inquired into by the panel.
First, I assume you and the Home Secretary consider that you have the ‘necessary expertise’ to conduct this inquiry. Inquiries Act 2005 s 8(1)(a) requires that when a minister appoints, s/he must consider that, ‘as a whole… [an inquiry panel member has] the necessary expertise to undertake the inquiry’.
Inquiries Act 2005
The relevant parts of statute law on which your appointment turns is Inquiries Act 2005 s 9. This I believe can be explained, at common law, by reference to recent Supreme Court authority on the subject of ‘perceived bias’.
I take it as axiomatic that like any judicial or administrative process or inquiry the appointment, and operation of, the inquiry is bound by ordinary common law and other rules of fairness. I start from the assumption that, as stated by Administrative Law (2009) Wade & Forsyth (10th Ed) at page 801: all forms of inquiry have in common is ‘the independence of the person (or persons) who conducts the inquiry and writes the report’
The common law of England and Wales can reasonably said to be summarised in European Convention 1950 Art 6(1) and that this guarantees freedom of bias in any judicial or administrative process; and I assume that an inquiry like this comprises elements of both. Further Inquiries Act 2005 s 9 makes specific provision as to ‘impartiality’ (ie freedom from bias):
9 Requirement of impartiality
(1)The Minister must not appoint a person as a member of the inquiry panel if it appears to the Minister that the person has—
(a)a direct interest in the matters to which the inquiry relates, or
(b)a close association with an interested party,
unless, despite the person’s interest or association, his appointment could not reasonably be regarded as affecting the impartiality of the inquiry panel.
(2)Before a person is appointed as a member of an inquiry panel he must notify the Minister of any matters that, having regard to subsection (1), could affect his eligibility for appointment.
(3)If at any time (whether before the setting-up date or during the course of the inquiry) a member of the inquiry panel becomes aware that he has an interest or association falling within paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1), he must notify the Minister.
(4)A member of the inquiry panel must not, during the course of the inquiry, undertake any activity that could reasonably be regarded as affecting his suitability to serve as such.
In what follows I shall assume that s 9(1)(a) approximates to ‘actual’ bias (as defined below); and that in all other respects normal common and administrative law principles apply (see eg Porter v McGill (orse McGill v Weeks) [2001] UKHL 67, where the challenge of Porter was to a local authority appointed auditor and his inquiry).
Bias at common law
It has been said by the Court of Appeal that judicial impartiality is ‘thefundamental principle of justice, both at common law and under European Convention 1950 Art 6’ (Morrison & Anor v AWG Group Ltd & Anor [2006] EWCA Civ 6, [2006] 1 WLR 1163 per Mummery LJ at para [6]). If it is breached a judge is disqualified from hearing a case. If ‘bias’ – in the technical sense of the term, as considered below – is found then recusal (ie the judge must take him/herself off the case) must follow as a matter of law.
Bias arises where a judge may be said to be unsuitable to try a case because of a personal interest (however remote; and compare this with Inquiries Act 2005 s 9(4) above) in the outcome of the case; or because the judge is in some other way is, or appears to be (appearance of bias may be critical to this, as explained below), unable to form an independent view of the case before the court. Thus bias may arise in two ways:
- ‘Actual bias’ – That the judge has, as a matter of fact, a personal interest in the outcome of the case; or
- ‘Perceived or apparent bias’ – for example, because of an expressed point of view or because of the judge’s personal opinion of a matter in issue or a party in the proceedings.
The test for bias of either category is whether the ‘fair-minded and informed observer’ would conclude that there was a real possibility of bias (Lord Hope in Porter v McGill (orse McGill v Weeks) [2001] UKHL 67). In either case bias – in the general sense of the word – may not actually exist.
In the case of ‘actual’ bias it arises automatically on the facts of a case (eg a relationship with a party or witness in the proceedings; or where a judge owns shares in a company involved in the litigation). This may be equivalent to the impartiality required by s 9(1)(b). I shall assume that the Mayor has given sufficient thought (though in truth I wonder) to the question of ‘actual’ bias or s 9(1)(b) impartiality. I shall concentrate on perceived bias.
‘The fair-minded and informed observer’ – perceived bias
The modern test as to whether judicial bias may be present, as applied to civil proceedings, is defined by Lord Hope in Porter v Magill [2008] UKHL 62 and this test can be taken now to be the authoritative distillation of recent case law variants on a similar theme:
The question is whether the fair-minded and informed observer, having considered the facts, would conclude that there was a real possibility that the tribunal was biased.
Since that quote coined the terms the ‘fair-minded and informed observer’ and Lord Hope has returned to the same ‘relative newcomer’ in the legal lexicon in Helow v Secretary of State for the Home Department and another ([2008] UKHL 62 where he further explained his use of the term:
[2] The observer who is fair-minded is the sort of person who always reserves judgment on every point until she has seen and fully understood both sides of the argument. She is not unduly sensitive or suspicious… Her approach must not be confused with that of the person who has brought the complaint. The “real possibility” test ensures that there is this measure of detachment. The assumptions that the complainer makes are not to be attributed to the observer unless they can be justified objectively. But she is not complacent either. She knows that fairness requires that a judge must be, and must be seen to be, unbiased. She knows that judges, like anybody else, have their weaknesses. She will not shrink from the conclusion, if it can be justified objectively, that things that they have said or done or associations that they have formed may make it difficult for them to judge the case before them impartially.
Partiality and the informed observer
So how does Lord Hope’s formula in Helow fit with Inquiries Act 2005 s 9? In the final analysis it must be recalled why inquiries are set up under the 2005 Act. Section 1(1) provides:
1 Power to establish inquiry
(1)A Minister may cause an inquiry to be held under this Act in relation to a case where it appears to him that—
(a)particular events have caused, or are capable of causing, public concern, or
(b)there is public concern that particular events may have occurred.
I would suggest to you, Lady Woolf, that this requires a particularly high duty on you and the Minister. Further you must both have careful regard for the variety of ‘informed observers’ and commentators; and that you examine very carefully your standing in terms of that high duty given the reasons for and the background to the inquiry. Perhaps you should, as quickly as possible, make public your thoughts on Inquiries Act 2005 s 9.
I cannot be an ‘informed observer’ yet: I have not heard your side of the story (para [2] or Helow above). I do hope we shall all hear your side very soon. Then we the observer can consider how s 9 applies to you and whether in common law you can be regarded as biased in your proposed role.
Please sign this petition to stop Woolf from destroying CSA inquiry
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/block-fiona-woolf-from-chairing-csa-enquiry
Link to original letter from DB family Law http://dbfamilylaw.wordpress.com/2014/09/07/csainquiry-open-letter-to-fiona-woolf-on-bias/
Fiona Woolf Speaker at Swiss Banking Conference Leon Brittan attended to hear her speak http://www.swissbanking.org/fr/medienmitteilung-20140523.htm
Woolfs world Bankers and corporate lawyers leech off the toil and suffering of the poor. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-10-02/credit-suisse-s-drew-sees-increase-in-senior-women-banker-ranks
Theresa May speaking on defence and security hosted by Fiona Woolf Home Secretary Theresa May is the keynote speaker at the annual Defence and Security Lecture, hosted by the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Fiona Woolf.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-27994771
Fiona Woolf and Fiona Swain both directors of IOM (isle of Man) company MITRE SECRETARIES LIMITED A company which acts as nominee secretary for companies who want to hide their beneficial owners. This is called TAX EVASION but only if you are not a Westminster pedophile friend http://companycheck.co.uk/director/100324173/directors-secretaries
A suggestion:
ReplyDeletePut the Open Letter on a separate web page on its own and then link to it.
Good idea, modified a little letter has own web page and link to original in article
DeleteI'm furious over this, It's disgusting they have no shame why are we having any kind of elites judging this anyway? They all need to go over this we can not let this go!
ReplyDeletesome excellent points there, but they make up these acts and statutes for the common man to follow, not for themselves... it's one rule for us and another for them! barstewards!!
ReplyDeleteTotally agree, Laws are for the plebs. Jail as many plebs as you can for misdemeanors whilst they (the Elite) are involved in organized crime and protected by the Police and the Security Services.
Delete"She is not unduly sensitive or suspicious"… Don't ask too many questions.
ReplyDeleteThis is appalling. Can't someone set up a petition on change.org. I am sure most people would be horrified to know the truth and would give their whole backing. How can they get away with this?
ReplyDeleteWhy not send a copy to Keith Vaz Thee must be people with sufficient exiertire without links to T May etc Plus the other issues about her companies etc possibly don't indicate appropriate judgement
ReplyDeleteHow would you find out who had a bank account in Switzerland, or anywhere else for that matter, and how much that bank account contains?
ReplyDeleteGlad you asked this question. Same way police/intel find out. Not everyone with connections likes to see children raped and these serious crimes covered up by the likes of Woolf and May and Greyling. And not everyone with the power to get this info likes to see serious fraudsters and people into organised crime go scot free whilst the police target survivors and whistle blowers.
DeleteThe Woolf -Theresa May Child abuse enquirey, or the lack of it, is a deliberate ploy by this goverment to frustrate the matter to a more convenient time. I am sure they would not want the findings of this appearing before, or in the run up to the next general election. They would have far more better time to deal with the matter after that no matter who was elected?
ReplyDelete