Senior judges publish revised Guide to Judicial Conduct
The Lord Chief Justice and the Senior President of Tribunals, Sir Keith Lindblom, have a issued a revised Guide to Judicial Conduct.
The Courts and Tribunals Judiciary said the key changes are:
- The Statement of Expected Behaviour has been included to ensure that all judicial office holders are aware of the standards expected of them
- It clarifies how judicial office holders should behave in a manner consistent with the expectations of court staff, as well as towards their colleagues and anyone else with whom they interact in the workplace
- Conflict of interest guidance has been updated so judicial office holders without legal training, including magistrates and non-legal members, can identify potential conflicts requiring recusal or disclosure to parties and know what steps to take if such conflicts arise
- Media Guidance and Social Media Guidance for the judiciary have been updated with the latest versions
- Gender-specific pronouns have been removed
- Where guidance applies to everyone within the scope of the guide, it uses the term “judicial office holder”. The term “judge” is retained where the guidance applies only to judges
- Several other minor amendments have been made, including removing references to the European Parliament and local justice areas, clarifying to what extent the Declaration and Undertaking signed by magistrates upon appointment applies to former magistrates on the Supplemental List, and clarifying who needs to be notified if a judicial office holder intends to appear before a court or tribunal as a witness.
In January 2023, the Lord Chief Justice and Senior President of Tribunals asked the Judicial HR committee, a representative body for the entire judiciary, to revise the Guide again “to reflect changes in wider aspects of judicial and public life”.
The Courts and Tribunals Judiciary said the guide is intended to assist judges, tribunal members, coroners and magistrates, in relation to their conduct.
“It is based on the principle that responsibility for deciding whether or not a particular activity or course of conduct is appropriate rests with each individual judicial office holder,” it said.
“This Guide is therefore not a code, nor does it contain rules other than where stated. Instead, it contains a set of core principles which will help judicial office holders reach their own decisions.”
