diff --git a/INSTRUCTIONS.md b/INSTRUCTIONS.md
index 22b9e60d..afc30f19 100644
--- a/INSTRUCTIONS.md
+++ b/INSTRUCTIONS.md
@@ -241,11 +241,15 @@ uv run evaluate \
   --trajectories traces/trajectories \
   --scenarios groundtruth/101.json \
   --scorer-default llm_judge \
-  --judge-model litellm_proxy/aws/claude-opus-4-6
+  --judge-model litellm_proxy/azure/gpt-5.4
 ```
 
 Output lands under `reports/` — one `<run_id>.json` per trajectory plus `_aggregate.json` for the rollup.
 
+> [!NOTE]
+> If `llm_judge` is used, `--judge-model` must not match the trajectory's `model`
+> for any evaluated run. The evaluator now rejects self-judging rows with a clear error.
+
 Scorer families follow MLflow's evaluator/scorer split: `llm_judge` is wired up; `exact_string_match`, `numeric_match`, and `semantic_similarity` ship as skeletons (raise `NotImplementedError`).
 
 Full reference — scenario schema, report layout, custom scorers, looping over ground-truth: **[docs/evaluation.md](docs/evaluation.md)**.
diff --git a/docs/evaluation.md b/docs/evaluation.md
index 12ce4e1e..f7ba3d77 100644
--- a/docs/evaluation.md
+++ b/docs/evaluation.md
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ uv run evaluate \
   --trajectories traces/trajectories \
   --scenarios groundtruth/101.json \
   --scorer-default llm_judge \
-  --judge-model litellm_proxy/aws/claude-opus-4-6
+  --judge-model litellm_proxy/azure/gpt-5.4
 ```
 
 Output:
@@ -230,6 +230,19 @@ free-form `suggestions` (or legacy `reason`) lands in
 To customise: edit `_PROMPT_TEMPLATE` in
 `src/evaluation/scorers/llm_judge.py`.
 
+## Self-judging guard
+
+When `llm_judge` is active and `--judge-model` is provided, evaluation
+aborts any row where the trajectory `model` matches the judge model
+(after normalizing the `litellm_proxy/` prefix). This avoids
+out-of-the-box self-evaluation bias.
+
+Example error:
+
+```
+self-judging is not allowed for llm_judge: trajectory model 'litellm_proxy/aws/claude-opus-4-6' matches judge model 'litellm_proxy/aws/claude-opus-4-6'
+```
+
 ## Programmatic use
 
 ```python
@@ -249,6 +262,18 @@ for r in report.results:
     print(r.run_id, r.score.passed, r.score.score)
 ```
 
+To enforce the self-judging guard in programmatic usage, pass `judge_model`:
+
+```python
+report = Evaluator(
+    default_scorer="llm_judge",
+    judge_model="litellm_proxy/azure/gpt-5.4",
+).evaluate(
+    trajectories_path=Path("traces/trajectories"),
+    scenarios_paths=[Path("groundtruth/101.json")],
+)
+```
+
 ## Plug in a custom scorer
 
 ```python
@@ -285,5 +310,5 @@ uv run evaluate \
   --trajectories traces/trajectories \
   --scenarios groundtruth/*.json \
   --scorer-default llm_judge \
-  --judge-model litellm_proxy/aws/claude-opus-4-6
+  --judge-model litellm_proxy/azure/gpt-5.4
 ```
diff --git a/src/evaluation/cli.py b/src/evaluation/cli.py
index faf36965..122628a1 100644
--- a/src/evaluation/cli.py
+++ b/src/evaluation/cli.py
@@ -95,7 +95,10 @@ def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
     _maybe_install_judge(args.judge_model)
     _validate_scorer_default(args.scorer_default)
 
-    report = Evaluator(default_scorer=args.scorer_default).evaluate(
+    report = Evaluator(
+        default_scorer=args.scorer_default,
+        judge_model=args.judge_model,
+    ).evaluate(
         trajectories_path=args.trajectories,
         scenarios_paths=list(args.scenarios),
     )
diff --git a/src/evaluation/evaluator.py b/src/evaluation/evaluator.py
index dedc8288..27845f08 100644
--- a/src/evaluation/evaluator.py
+++ b/src/evaluation/evaluator.py
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@
     PersistedTrajectory,
     Scenario,
     ScenarioResult,
-    ScorerResult,
 )
 from .report import build_report
 from .scorers import Scorer
@@ -35,8 +34,13 @@ class Evaluator:
     take precedence.
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, default_scorer: str = "llm_judge") -> None:
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        default_scorer: str = "llm_judge",
+        judge_model: str | None = None,
+    ) -> None:
         self.default_scorer = default_scorer
+        self.judge_model = judge_model
 
     def evaluate(
         self,
@@ -58,6 +62,7 @@ def _score_one(
     ) -> ScenarioResult:
         name = scenario.scoring_method or self.default_scorer
         scorer = self._resolve(name)
+        self._validate_judge_model(name, traj)
         trajectory_text = _trajectory_to_text(traj)
         score = scorer(scenario, traj.answer, trajectory_text)
 
@@ -77,6 +82,21 @@ def _score_one(
     def _resolve(name: str) -> Scorer:
         return scorer_registry.get(name)
 
+    def _validate_judge_model(self, scorer_name: str, traj: PersistedTrajectory) -> None:
+        if scorer_name != "llm_judge" or not self.judge_model:
+            return
+
+        trajectory_model = _normalize_model_id(traj.model)
+        judge_model = _normalize_model_id(self.judge_model)
+        if not trajectory_model or not judge_model:
+            return
+
+        if trajectory_model == judge_model:
+            raise ValueError(
+                "self-judging is not allowed for llm_judge: "
+                f"trajectory model '{traj.model}' matches judge model '{self.judge_model}'"
+            )
+
 
 def _trajectory_to_text(traj: PersistedTrajectory) -> str:
     """Flatten a trajectory to a text blob for the LLM-As-Judge prompt."""
@@ -86,3 +106,12 @@ def _trajectory_to_text(traj: PersistedTrajectory) -> str:
         return json.dumps(traj.trajectory, indent=2, default=str)
     except (TypeError, ValueError):
         return str(traj.trajectory)
+
+
+def _normalize_model_id(model_id: str | None) -> str:
+    if not model_id:
+        return ""
+    normalized = model_id.strip()
+    if normalized.startswith("litellm_proxy/"):
+        normalized = normalized[len("litellm_proxy/") :]
+    return normalized
diff --git a/src/evaluation/runner.py b/src/evaluation/runner.py
index 507cdaa2..c86889b3 100644
--- a/src/evaluation/runner.py
+++ b/src/evaluation/runner.py
@@ -13,13 +13,17 @@ def evaluate(
     trajectories_path: Path,
     scenarios_paths: list[Path],
     default_scoring_method: str = "llm_judge",
+    judge_model: str | None = None,
 ) -> EvalReport:
     """Load, score, and aggregate.
 
     Per-scenario scorer is picked from ``scenario.scoring_method`` when
     set, falling back to ``default_scoring_method``.
     """
-    return Evaluator(default_scorer=default_scoring_method).evaluate(
+    return Evaluator(
+        default_scorer=default_scoring_method,
+        judge_model=judge_model,
+    ).evaluate(
         trajectories_path=trajectories_path,
         scenarios_paths=scenarios_paths,
     )
diff --git a/src/evaluation/tests/test_evaluator.py b/src/evaluation/tests/test_evaluator.py
index 6d91e633..5cab8665 100644
--- a/src/evaluation/tests/test_evaluator.py
+++ b/src/evaluation/tests/test_evaluator.py
@@ -70,3 +70,100 @@ def test_evaluator_per_scenario_override_wins(tmp_path: Path, make_persisted_rec
 
     assert report.totals["passed"] == 1
     assert report.results[0].score.scorer == "stub-evaluator"
+
+
+def test_evaluator_rejects_self_judging_model(tmp_path: Path, make_persisted_record):
+    trajectories_dir = tmp_path / "trajectories"
+    trajectories_dir.mkdir()
+
+    rec = make_persisted_record(
+        run_id="run-1",
+        scenario_id=1,
+        model="litellm_proxy/aws/claude-opus-4-6",
+    )
+    (trajectories_dir / "run-1.json").write_text(json.dumps(rec), encoding="utf-8")
+
+    scenarios_path = tmp_path / "scenarios.json"
+    scenarios_path.write_text(
+        json.dumps([{"id": 1, "text": "Q", "type": "iot"}]),
+        encoding="utf-8",
+    )
+
+    registry.register("llm_judge", _stub_scorer)
+
+    try:
+        Evaluator(
+            default_scorer="llm_judge",
+            judge_model="litellm_proxy/aws/claude-opus-4-6",
+        ).evaluate(
+            trajectories_path=trajectories_dir,
+            scenarios_paths=[scenarios_path],
+        )
+    except ValueError as exc:
+        assert "self-judging is not allowed" in str(exc)
+    else:
+        raise AssertionError("expected ValueError for self-judging")
+
+
+def test_evaluator_rejects_self_judging_with_normalized_model_ids(
+    tmp_path: Path, make_persisted_record
+):
+    trajectories_dir = tmp_path / "trajectories"
+    trajectories_dir.mkdir()
+
+    rec = make_persisted_record(
+        run_id="run-1",
+        scenario_id=1,
+        model="litellm_proxy/aws/claude-opus-4-6",
+    )
+    (trajectories_dir / "run-1.json").write_text(json.dumps(rec), encoding="utf-8")
+
+    scenarios_path = tmp_path / "scenarios.json"
+    scenarios_path.write_text(
+        json.dumps([{"id": 1, "text": "Q", "type": "iot"}]),
+        encoding="utf-8",
+    )
+
+    registry.register("llm_judge", _stub_scorer)
+
+    try:
+        Evaluator(
+            default_scorer="llm_judge",
+            judge_model="aws/claude-opus-4-6",
+        ).evaluate(
+            trajectories_path=trajectories_dir,
+            scenarios_paths=[scenarios_path],
+        )
+    except ValueError as exc:
+        assert "self-judging is not allowed" in str(exc)
+    else:
+        raise AssertionError("expected ValueError for self-judging")
+
+
+def test_evaluator_allows_non_llm_judge_even_with_matching_model(
+    tmp_path: Path, make_persisted_record
+):
+    rec = make_persisted_record(
+        run_id="run-1",
+        scenario_id=1,
+        model="litellm_proxy/aws/claude-opus-4-6",
+    )
+    (tmp_path / "run-1.json").write_text(json.dumps(rec), encoding="utf-8")
+
+    scenarios_path = tmp_path / "scenarios.json"
+    scenarios_path.write_text(
+        json.dumps([{"id": 1, "text": "Q", "type": "iot"}]),
+        encoding="utf-8",
+    )
+
+    registry.register("stub-evaluator", _stub_scorer)
+
+    report = Evaluator(
+        default_scorer="stub-evaluator",
+        judge_model="aws/claude-opus-4-6",
+    ).evaluate(
+        trajectories_path=tmp_path,
+        scenarios_paths=[scenarios_path],
+    )
+
+    assert report.totals["passed"] == 1