Australia: Judge in COVID Vaccine Case Did Not Disclose Past Links to Pfizer Before Dismissing Case Against Pfizer
July 10th, 2024Just another day at the office…
Via: Sky:
As recounted in a detailed article by eminent law Professors Augusto Zimmermann and Gabriël Moens, in ‘Re Dr Julian Fidge v Pfizer Australia Pty Ltd & Anor’, injunctions were sought in the Federal Court against Pfizer and Moderna on the basis that they failed to apply for necessary licences to deal with Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in Australia under the Commonwealth Gene Technology Act 2000 (GT Act).
Dr Fidge sought to present evidence showing the mRNA vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna objectively satisfy the legal definitions of GMOs, pursuant to section 10 of the Act.
If this were the case, the court then had to consider the question whether Pfizer and Moderna had knowingly breached the GT Act.
If the court so found, then Pfizer and Moderna would be prevented from further using their mRNA COVID vaccines in Australia.
The judge hearing the matter, Helen Rofe, found in favour of Pfizer and Moderna, dismissing Dr Fidge’s case on the grounds that it had no prospects of success since he is not an “aggrieved person” for the purposes of section 147 of the GT Act.
This is where the matter gets intriguing.
To avoid any reasonable apprehension of bias, judges are required to consider whether having acted for one of the parties appearing before them in the past ought to be disclosed.
However, the law firm representing Dr Fidge alleges that at no stage either prior to or during the hearing of the case, did Justice Rofe disclose that, while practising as a barrister, she seemingly both directly and indirectly represented Pfizer in at least five separate and long-running matters.
As Zimmermann and Moens affirm, the rules regarding judicial bias require that, when a judge has had prior dealings with one or more parties to proceedings, he or she is obliged to consider disclosing all details and inviting the parties to make submissions on whether that judge should recuse him or herself from the proceedings.
Related: Constitutional Complaint Brought Against Federal Court Judge for Concealing Pharma Connections
