Neilson DCJ in Andrew Learmont v SAS Trustee Corporation [2020] NSWDC 595 states
[1] This is an application that I "recuse" myself. The use of such terminology is deplorable. The Latin root is the verb, recuso, recusare, recusavi, recusatum. That is a technical term in Roman law. It is used by certain jurists meaning, to make an objection or to demur. It is so used by Cicero, Celsus, Quintilian and Julian. It gives a noun form, recusatio, recusationis, which means either a counter plea or a demurrer. However, the verb could also be used generally, meaning to make an objection or to protest. It is so used by Cicero, by Ovid, by Seneca, by Livy and by Caesar. It can also mean, not to accept or consent, or to decline, to reject, or to oppose. It is not used reflexively and is not used in Latin to mean to disqualify oneself.
[2] According to the second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary published in 1989, the word, recuse, is rare and means, to refuse or to make an objection. There is a form of the word, recusal, but that means an objection to a judge as being prejudiced, but not the action of the judge in disqualifying himself. However, the primary meaning assigned to one form of the word, recuse, was that of being a “recusant” and the associated status of recusancy. A recusant was a person who refused to attend the services of the Church of England as established by Parliament. It applied to all who refused to attend the services of the Church of England but, in particular, members of the Catholic faith. The second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary does not admit the use of the verb "recuse" to mean, the action of a judge in disqualifying himself.
[3] The 5th ed of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary published in 2002, does give the verb, recuse, a fourth meaning, when used reflexively, of a judge withdrawing from a hearing of a case because of a possible conflict of interest or lack of impartiality. However, it is clear, from the other entries in the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary that that use is United States usage. It does not admit to the usage being either British, Australian, Canadian, New Zealander or South African.
[4] However, the verb, recuse, in English has the same meanings as it does in Latin, to refuse a thing offered, to reject or renounce a person or his authority or to object or to refuse to do something. The use of the word "recuse" being a request of a judge to disqualify himself from the hearing of a case is not consistent with its Latin etymology, is inconsistent with English usage and, although it may be used in the United States of America, it is not part of the Queen's English and its use is to be eschewed.
