Supreme Court Justices Sign New Code of Conduct to Ensure Ethical Standards and Public Confidence in Court Decisions

The Supreme Court on Monday released a code of conduct laying out ethical rules for its nine Justices after nearly a year of revelations of unreported luxury trips, gifts, and secret real estate deals at the high court. The new code of conduct was signed by all nine justices and sets out formal rules to guide their conduct.

In a statement accompanying the new ethics practices, the court said the justices “are promulgating this Code of Conduct to set out succinctly and gather in one place the ethics rules and principles that guide the conduct of the Members of the Court.”

The court acknowledged that in recent years, the lack of a formal code of ethics had created a “misunderstanding that the Justices of this Court, unlike all other jurists in this country, regard themselves as unrestricted by any ethics rules.”

The new code of conduct includes rules on gifts, travel, and other activities. It also requires justices to disclose any financial interests that could create a conflict of interest. The code also requires justices to recuse themselves from cases in which they have a financial interest.

The Supreme Court’s new code of conduct is intended to ensure that justices adhere to ethical standards and that the public can have confidence in the court’s decisions. The code is the latest step taken by the court to address the issues raised by the revelations of unreported luxury trips, gifts, and secret real estate deals.