Dingake releases In Pursuit of Justice

A judge in a democracy is oath bound to be impartial and independent and to approach all issues in an objective manner. Absence of bias or the appearance of bias, lies at the heart of a credible adjudicatory system. Judgeship requires that judges take decisions on the basis of considerations that are not necessarily aligned to their personal views or preferences.

As is often said a judge must respect the chains that bind him as a judge. But it should be accepted that every judge processes the controversies serving before him/her through his/her own mind and not the mind of any other person. The judge is a product of his/her own circumstances, a product of his/her own time, shaped by a given society and a set of beliefs. He/She may grow up with certain prejudices or stereotypes that do not magically disappear soon after taking an oath of the office. For this reason judges must always be aware of their subconscious biases.