Li Hailing, Gao Yifei
In addition to the traditional judicial ethical requirements, the London Declaration emphasizes that ethical standards such as discretion, respect and listening ability, competence and transparency should become the common values of judicial judges.
The European Judicial Commission Alliance Conference was held in London from 2 to 4 June 2010. The General Assembly adopted the London Declaration on Judicial Ethics (2010) (London Declaration 2010 on Judicial Ethics), referred to as the London Declaration. According to the London Declaration, European judicial ethics codes are divided into two parts, including eight basic values and seven aspects of wisdom and ability.
The problem that the first part of
solves is what society and citizens expect judicial officials to do. It mainly includes the following contents:1. Character. Judicial judges should maintain good conduct when performing their duties. This principle has two responsibilities: integrity and honor.
2. Just and selfless. The judicial officer shall not have any personal or bias when performing his or her judicial duties. When the person or the relevant person has a interest in the case, or in the view of bystanders, the judicial judge should take the initiative to avoid the case.
3. Rights and discretion are reserved. In order for discretion to be exercised fairly, the judge should avoid any comment on his judgment, even if criticized by the media or academic critics, even if the judgment he made was overturned during the appeal process. The way he expressed his opinion could only be the reasoning of the judgment. Of course, the judicial officer can still explain its legal rules and procedures.
4. Conscientious. Judicial judges must make handling and judgments that comply with judicial matters within a reasonable time and ensure the quality of the judgment. Judicial judges should strengthen training to avoid delays in litigation due to their unprofessionality.
5. Respect others' opinions and listening ability. Respect can be understood as the attitude of a judge in facing public status and dignity. Listening can be understood as the attitude of a judge to face the factual explanation and technical reasoning proposed by the parties and their lawyers. In work, judges should consider and pay attention to all demands related to the case and listen carefully to the demands of all parties to the trial and their representatives.
6. Treat equally. Equal treatment requires judicial judges to recognize the uniqueness of each individual and treat it equally, ensuring that all parties can be heard, understood and respected. The judge should make sure that no one thinks he is ignored or despised.
7. Competent. The judicial officer should take into account the particularity of each case, including new and unknown factors and deal with it within appropriate time. Judicial judges can also use their persuasiveness to resolve conflicts; if necessary, the work of judicial judges can be part of community work.
8. Transparency. The disclosure of judicial information in judicial procedures is conducive to gaining social recognition. The public's equal access to civil and criminal litigation information has increased transparency and enhanced social credibility.
Part 2 is the wisdom and ability that judicial personnel should have. Due to the complexity of judicial acts, judicial judges are required to have many virtues or qualities in order to achieve justice, especially the work attitude and ability to deal with complex situations.
1. Wisdom. Judicial judges demonstrate their wisdom through their reasonable, impartial and prudent actions through their actions. Do not be timid or retreat when performing judicial duties, and judges should be creative when applying law to judge cases, including those not resolved by existing laws. Since the law may lag behind the development of society, judges need judicial wisdom when using technology.
2. Loyalty. Judicial judges should be loyal to judicial work. The loyalty of the judge cannot exceed the rightful power granted by law.
3. Human nature. Judicial judges should express respect when communicating with lawyers, administrative personnel, parties, etc. Human nature includes the sensitivity of a judicial officer to a case, and when evaluating facts and judgments, the judge will weigh between sympathy, mercy, kindness, and punishment. Only by applying the law in this way can it be considered legal and fair.
4. Brave. Brave and independence may make judges feel lonely and lonely.As society develops, judicial judges must demonstrate their courage in both physical and moral aspects: implementing specific procedures; responding to various pressures such as political, social and public opinion, as well as from the media and the privileged class; and welcoming new problems in modern society challenge.
5. Rigorous and prudent. Strictly require judicial judges to be decent, polite, not serious and excessive, and have appropriate humor during legal proceedings. However, maintaining a cautious attitude when practicing does not preclude flexibility in community practice. A cautious judge will combine his legal knowledge with the particularity of the case in a reasonable way.
6. Work ability. Judicial judges need to develop their judicial skills and maintain high-quality work; if working with a team, judicial judges should consider the views of colleagues and develop their teamwork skills; judicial judges can develop their management skills by participating in court management.
7. Listening and communication skills. Judicial judges should listen carefully to the demands of the parties at all stages of the lawsuit. This not only means true openness, but also means that one's own abilities are able to withstand challenges and tests. Listening should be neutral, distanced, humble, humane and calm. Judicial judges should also have good expressiveness (whether written or oral) in their judgments to ensure that their judgment is understandable and should state the reasons for the judgment so that relevant personnel can make logical reasoning for the judgment in an understanding manner.
In addition to the traditional judicial ethical requirements, the London Declaration emphasizes that ethical standards such as discretion, respect and listening ability, competence and transparency should become the common values of judicial judges. In terms of its work requirements, new contents such as wisdom, humanity, courage, rigor and prudence, work ability and listening ability, and effective communication ability are also proposed. The number has expanded from the original 6 to 16, emphasizing more emphasis on the challenges brought by the complexity and social nature of modern society to judicial ability.
(Author’s unit: People’s Procuratorate of Jiangbei District, Chongqing City, Southwest University of Political Science and Law )
