The Rule Of Freedom From Bias In American Administrative Procedure

One of the basic requirements of due process is a“fair trial in a fair tribunal.”This requirement is applicable to both courts and administrative agency adjudications.Judges and adjudicators of fair tribunal must be neutral and unbiased.This rule has been called Freedom from Bias.According to the Administrative Procedural Act,employees participating in adjudications shall be conducted in an impartial manner,without personal bias or other grounds of disqualification.How to define“bias”in judicial review?This article was written around the rule of Freedom from Bias and made an attempt to analyze the controls of American law on the impartiality in administrative procedure.The first part mainly introduces the meaning of Freedom from Bias and its rationale.It originated from the concern about fairness of administrative procedure and was included in the right to a impartial adjudicator.As a kind of procedural control,the rule of freedom from bias has been a part of the new wave of structural challenges to the administrative state since 2010.The second part talks about the types of legal bias.According to listing every kinds of bias,including personal bias,interests and prejudgment,their meaning and boundary in law has been clarified.The third part focuses on application of Freedom from Bias in administrative area.In Administrative proceedings,disqualification is the direct reflection of Freedom from Bias.And Administrative Law Judge,separation of functions and prohibition of Ex Parte Communication are preventative systems against bias provided by statutes.The forth part is concerned with application of Freedom from Bias in judicial review.The general test of bias has undergone the evolution from actual bias to apparent bias.But overall,the attitudes of courts toward bias are still cautious.Furthermore,the Rule of Necessity imposes restrictions to Freedom from Bias.The last part compares the law system of administrative procedure in China with the institutional structure and discusses the enlightenment of the rule of Freedom from Bias to administrative procedures legislation in China.