Ethics Code For Latvian Judges
Adopted in the Conference of Judges of the Republic of Latvia on April 20, 1995
CANON 1
A judge shall hold in respect his position, independence of judiciary and integrity of court:
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an independent judiciary is an indispensable part of a democratic society;
a judge’s conduct shall comply with Satversme (the Constitution) and the
Law and shall act decently;
a judge shall participate in establishment, application and keeping up of
high standards of conduct;
a judge shall personally observe high standards of conduct to preserve
integrity and independence of judiciary.
CANON 2
A judge shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in the activities:
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a judge shall respect the law and comply with the law;
a judge shall perform the duties of the office diligently and confidently;
a judge shall act in such a manner that promotes the confidence of the
society in the fairness and impartiality of the court;
a judge shall be prepared to be constantly in the focus of the society;
a judge shall accept such restrictions of conduct that might be viewed as
burdensome by the ordinary citizen and shall do so freely and willingly;
the prohibition against behaving with impropriety or the appearance of
impropriety applies to both the professional and personal conduct of a
judge;
a judge shall not allow family, social, political, or other relationship
influence judicial conduct while administering justice;
a judge shall not lend the prestige of judicial office for satisfaction of his
private interests or the interests of other persons related to him;
a judge shall not allow an impression that a person is in a special position
which could influence the judge;
a candidate to the judge’s position shall behave with respect typical for the
court institution and in the conduct shall observe the principle of
independence and impartiality of the court, as well as shall prompt the
members of his/her family to observe the same standards of conduct.
CANON 3
A judge shall perform the duties of the office impartially and diligently:
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the judicial duties of a judge take precedence over all other activities of the
judge;
a judge shall perfect the judge’s qualification;
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a judge when deciding matters shall not be swayed by interests of
separate persons, public protests, or fear of criticism;
a judge shall require observance of certain standards of conduct during the
proceedings;
a judge shall be patient, dignified and courteous to participants of hearings,
and require similar conduct also of litigants, court personnel and other
persons subject to the judge’s direction and control;
a judge shall hear the proceedings with patience, confidently and
deliberately, however efficiently and determinedly;
a judge shall perform the duties of the office with responsibility and without
prejudice;
a judge shall avoid words and phrases, gestures or other actions which
could be interpreted as manifestation of bias or prejudice;
a judge shall not allow ex parte communications of a pending or initiated
proceeding in the absence of the parties;
a judge may consult with other judges;
a judge shall try to decide matters timely;
a judge shall not comment publicly on any pending proceeding what in any
way could affect the outcome of such proceeding;
a judge shall not praise or criticize assessors what could influence their
impartiality in deciding respective matters;
a judge shall not disclose confidential information which a judge has
obtained being in the office;
a judge requires the personnel and the court officials to respect the judges’
work, to be reliable and honestly perform their duties;
a judge shall avoid manifesting priorities during the proceeding;
a judge who has obtained reliable information that any judge has violated
standards of the ethics code, shall act in accordance with his/her principles
of ethics;
a judge shall disqualify himself/herself in a proceeding in which the judge
personally, his/her spouse or other relatives and family members have
financial interest in the subject matter or in a party to the proceeding.
CANON 4
A judge shall regulate extra-judicial activities in such a manner that there is no conflict
with judicial duties:
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a judge shall engage in extra-judicial activities in such a manner that there
may not arise doubts that the judge is capable to perform his judicial duties
impartially, that such activities do not detract from the dignity of the judge’s
office and do not interfere with proper performance of the judge’s judicial
duties;
a judge shall not be isolated from the society in which the judge lives, but
the judge shall not manifest partiality or prejudice towards any group of
people, nation, sex, religion, etc.;
in his/her free time, a judge may lecture, deliver speeches, write for mass
media, as well as participate in any other extra-judicial events which do not
contradict with the ethics code;
a judge shall have the right to contribute to the improvement of the law, the
legal system, and the administration of justice, including revision of
substantive and procedural law;
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a judge shall have the right to work as a lecturer in educational
establishments, the state or public non-profit organizations;
a judge may participate in charitable organizations but shall not do it on
behalf of a judicial institution;
a judge shall not engage in financial or business deals which might be
regarded as abuse of the judge’s position, neither shall the judge engage in
such deals with lawyers who could be participants in a proceeding;
a judge may own property, the judge may operate with the property,
including real estate, of his/her family members, or be engaged in profitable
activities with this property;
a judge shall not work as an official, director, manager, nor be a partner,
employee or advisor in any enterprise, except such enterprises which are
owned or co-owned by the judge or his/her family members, or which are
connected with financial investments of the judge or the family members;
a judge shall operate with his/her investments and other financial interests
in such a manner that could minimize number of cases where there are
grounds to recall the judge from a proceeding;
a judge shall not accept nor prompt the family members residing
permanently in the judge’s family, to accept gifts, services or loans from any
persons, except gifts from friends or relatives in special cases (jubilees,
anniversaries, weddings) and a loan from an ordinary credit institution which
is available to all other persons not being judges;
a judge shall not act as a personal representative, trustee, fiduciary or
other person of trust, except the cases of settlement of legacy or deposit for
a member of his/her family, on the condition that such activities shall not
prevent the judge from fair performance of his/her office duties;
a judge shall not act as an arbitrator or mediator, nor perform other judicial
functions in a private capacity;
a judge shall not practice law, but the judge may give legal advice, draft or
review legal documents for a member of the judge’s family;
a judge may receive compensation, as well as reimbursement of expenses
for the extra-judicial activities which are allowed by this code, if the source of
such payments does not give the appearance of influencing the judge in the
judge’s judicial duties or otherwise give the appearance of improper
conduct; compensation should not exceed the actual cost of the services
nor should it exceed what a person who is not a judge would receive for the
same activity.
CANON 5
A judge or judge’s candidate refrains from political activity:
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a judge or a candidate to the position of a judge shall not be a member of
any political organizations or parties, give speeches for a political
organization, solicit funds or make contributions to support a political
organization or its candidate;
a judge shall adjourn performance of the judicial duties for a period if the
judge is elected in the state, administration or municipal institutions;
a judge may remain in the office during the pre-election campaign being a
candidate in the Saeima (the Parliament) or municipality elections;
a candidate who is not a judge and wishes to be appointed to the position
of a judge, till his/her appointment may remain a member of a political
organization, attend political meetings, continue ordinary payments to the
political organization;
prohibition to a judge to be involved in political parties or organizations do not prohibit the
judge to have personal affection to separate political parties if it does not interfere with
impartial administration of justice.