Nemo iudex in causa sua

Nemo judex in causa sua (or nemo judex in sua causa) is a Latin phrase that means, literally, "no-one is judge in his own cause." It is a principle of natural justice that no person can judge a case in which they have an interest.[1] The rule is very strictly applied to any appearance of a possible bias, even if there is actually none: "Justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done".[2]

This principle may also be called:

• nemo judex idoneus in propria causa est
• nemo judex in parte sua
• nemo judex in re sua
• nemo debet esse judex in propria causa
• in propria causa nemo judex

The legal effect of a breach of natural justice is normally to stop the proceedings and render any judgment invalid; it should be quashed or appealed, but may be remitted for a valid re-hearing.

The phrase is credited to Sir Edward Coke in the 17th century,[3] but actually attested as early as 1544[4]

It is also found in The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, a Roman Slave (1856), by Darius Lyman, Jun., A. M.