The Ibero-American Judicial Code of Ethics: appearance context and aptness

Abstract

It considers the context around the appearance of the Ibero-American Judicial Code of Ethics (CIEJ) through concentric circles. The first and widest circle refers to the rise of individualistic ethics and the pluralistic democracy during the immediate period after the Cold War. The second circle, concentrated within the limits of philosophy, considers the applied turn that occurs in contemporary ethics. It has a peculiar impact in the origin of ethical codes of different professions. The third and last circle deliberates about the promotion of judicial ethics in those countries where the legitimacy of judges’ actions is considered to have diminished. Looking forward to evaluate the appropriateness of the Ibero-American Judicial Code of Ethics in this triple context, we give general considerations about the nature of judicial ethics in order to analyze from here the prescriptive contents of this code. This will lead us to the conclusion that the CIEJ, as it is proposed, can contribute to improve the people’s trust which is registered by the judicial branch in Ibero-America.