Judicial Ethics

The Cause of Judicial Ethics

One of the key priorities of the Association of Women Judges in Bulgaria is to ensure that ethical rules become an integral part of the professional mindset of judges. While some of us have completed training courses at the National Institute of Justice, the vast majority of judges rely on self-study and could benefit from additional support. We plan to organize a series of surveys, training sessions, and analyses. We aim to clarify the scope of moral and ethical qualities required to become a judge, as well as the substance of the "high moral and ethical qualities" criterion applicable to candidates for court presidencies and membership in the Judges' Chamber of the Supreme Judicial Council. We also intend to address the blurred line between a breach of ethical rules and a disciplinary violation. Our ambition extends to developing a strategy for upholding judicial professional integrity and a mandatory continuous training program covering all 2,292 Bulgarian judges. The goal is to dispel any suspicions regarding "parallel justice" or career advancement driven by influence networks, backroom dealings, schemes, conflicts of interest, or opaque grounds for forming judicial conviction. All these efforts would constitute a genuine contribution to the overarching objective: establishing the judiciary as independent, impartial, and fair.

It is time to introduce a "Legal Ethics" course in universities offering law degrees; many of us can leverage our experience and expertise to help shape the curriculum. The Association of Women Judges seeks to collaborate with the leadership of higher education institutions to emphasize the importance of this topic and ensure that the concept does not remain merely a theoretical possibility provided for by regulation.

We are also prepared to engage in discussions, debates, and joint meetings with professional associations of prosecutors and lawyers, as well as with non-governmental organizations. Each of us has something to say regarding the skills, qualities, and work of others, just as we must be open to receiving feedback from our colleagues.

This topic is also of importance to society. When entering a courtroom, a person needs to understand the rules governing the dialogue with this institution and its representatives. They should avoid preconceived notions—such as the belief that everyone is corrupt, that they need lawyers with connections to the judge, or that their case being assigned to a specific judge is anything other than random. There are individuals convinced they know more than the judge, that their case is being deliberately delayed, or that involving the media and organizing protests will immediately yield a favorable outcome. Many factors have contributed to these subjective public attitudes and, in turn, prompted a response from the judiciary through various initiatives—including open days, surveys, assessments, and public monitoring of court operations. Despite these efforts—and amidst a global decline in judicial authority—public pressure and discontent have not subsided; on the contrary, they increasingly impact the institutional functioning of the courts and directly affect individual Bulgarian judges. This was one of the reasons for establishing the Association of Judges in Bulgaria (AJB). We believe we can play a role in restoring trust in the work of the courts. On this website, we will develop surveys, tests, and a digital platform for debates and mock trials. We will explain legal intricacies and the protection of rights in accessible language. We will invite members of the public to discuss the ethical standards governing Bulgarian judges and work together to determine whether these standards need updating. Judicial ethics can offer a new perspective on the dialogue between the court and society.

Therefore, in this section, we aim to provide sufficient resources, key instruments and official documents regarding the ethical conduct, independence, and integrity of Bulgarian judges — available for download.