I have been told that judges feel insulted when plaintiffs or defendants represent themselves – it’s like you have no respect for their profession or the system and they tend to rule accordingly, regardless of the merits of the case.
I’ve read that judges tend to think that self representation at court level can both waste the court’s time and be a major disadvantage to the self representing party.
It’s because self representing parties tend to have both poor legal knowledge and a poor understanding of how the legal system works. It puts them at a major disadvantage that can end up frustrating everyone involved.
At Tribunals on the other hand, self representation is compulsory or encouraged. It’s somewhat ionic then that OC/BCs, being entities, always need representation, even at Tribunals. It need not be professional representation, but that’s the usual choice.