Key legal question
Whether the spontaneous recusal request should be admitted for appearance of bias
Extracted holding
Yes. Because the same justice of the peace office represented the creditor State in the enforcement proceedings, the judge called to decide the mainlevée was also part of the creditor's office, creating an objective appearance of bias.
Extracted reasoning
Art. 47(1)(a) CPC and the constitutional/ECHR guarantee of an impartial tribunal require recusal where objective circumstances create a serious appearance of partiality. Here, the deciding judge belonged to the authority representing the opposing party in the mainlevée proceeding.