Chief Magistrate stands aside from hearing Uber licensing appeal

The chief magistrate has taken the rare step of standing aside from a case because of a potential conflict of interest.

Senior district judge Emma Arbuthnot had been due to hear a licensing appeal in Brighton by Uber - the internet-based taxi service - against Brighton & Hove City Council’s decision to refuse it an operator’s licence.

But The Observer newspaper published claims that her husband Lord Arbuthnot acted as an adviser to the Qatar Investment Authority, a shareholder in Uber.

A spokesman for the judiciary said: “[She] did not know the Qatar Investment Authority for which her husband had acted as an adviser was a shareholder in Uber or had any links with Uber.

“Lord Arbuthnot was not aware that the Qatar Investment Authority was a shareholder in Uber or that it had any links to Uber. This is the first time that such a connection has been brought to the chief magistrate's attention.”

They added: “As soon as this link was pointed out to her she assigned the case to a fellow judge.

“It is essential that judges not only are, but are seen to be, absolutely impartial.” 

According to the judiciary website, the chief magistrate has a leadership responsibility for district judges and deputy district judges who sit in magistrates’ courts, though no authority over lay magistrates or district judges who sit in county courts.

The chief magistrate is responsible for hearing the most sensitive or complex cases, in particular those concerning extradition and special jurisdiction.

Mark Smulian