Judicial ethics

On 30 April 2018, the Academy of Justice within the Continuous Training Program, in co-operation with USAID's Kosovo Justice Sector Enforcement Program - JSSP, conducted training for judges of the Basic Court in Ferizaj with the topic "Ethics Judicial ".

The purpose of this training was to advance the knowledge of judges regarding the implementation of the Code of Judicial Ethics in Kosovo in order to perform their duties in a correct and fair manner.

During the training was emphasized that judges are required to act with integrity in their private lives as well as in professional life. It was further also emphasized that the appearance of improper court behavior affects public credibility, as well as observing judicial irregularities in reality. During the training was also mentioned the belief that the ex-parte communications between a party and a judge, even if they have nothing to do with one subject, may create perception in the public's mind that there is corruption in the judicial system.

After a thorough elaboration, was also mentioned that social media coverage such as facebook, instagram, twitter is not explicitly prohibited, but a judge should carefully consider the impact that a post or other action in social media may have on his judicial reputation and the reputation of the entire judiciary.

After a debate, was emphasized that obtaining a gift, even a nominal value given during the holiday period, is specifically prohibited by the Code of Judicial Ethics in Kosovo. The Code of Ethics contains the requirements that a judge may not accept gifts, regardless of their value, and prohibits court staff members from receiving gifts. Training also provided practical solutions based on the Code of Ethics, which will facilitate the work of judges and advance their knowledge of confidentiality requirements for certain parts of court proceedings, and restrictions on media court communications for cases currently in trial.

In this training, case scenarios were used and included, which include some of the practical ethical issues that judges may encounter in their daily work.

Beneficiaries of this training were judges of the Basic Court of Ferizaj and the judges in its branches.