Judges Code of Ethics and Conduct Must Be Based on Bangalore Principles

en1.hukumonline.com | Monday, January 30, 2012 

The Supreme Court (MA) and the Judicial Commission (KY) held an event on judicial integrity, from 26-27 January 2012. The event was attended by supreme court judges from Southeast Asian and Asian Pacific countries.

The event focused on international standards for the judicial sector, as stipulated in Article 11 of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption and Bangalore Principles. During the event, participants commented on the impact of implementing the Bangalore Principles.

The Bangalore Principles consist of six principles: independence, impartiality, integrity, propriety, equality, and competence and diligence. These principles have been included in the codes of conduct and codes of ethics for judges around the globe.

Shervin Majlessi, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Anti-Corruption Advisor, said that the two day workshop recognized the progress ASEAN countries have made to implement the Bangalore Principles.

“The event is also aimed at establishing cooperation between ASEAN Nations and Southern Asian Nations to implement Bangalore Principles,” he said at the closing ceremony of the event at Hotel Borobudur, Jakarta, Friday (26/1).

Shervin explained that participating countries shared their experiences implementing the Bangalore Principles and best practices.  Not every country has adopted the Bangalore Principles on judicial conduct, because they need to be adapted to suit the country’s judicial system.

“The Bangalore Principles are adopted voluntarily. We don’t have data on the number of countries that have adopted the principles,” he continued.

Harifin A Tumpa, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, explained that the joint decree between MA Chairman and KY Chairman of 2009 on Judges Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct adopts the Bangalore Principles.

(Agus Sahbani / Mahinda Arkyasa)