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Code of Ethics For Judges
posted (January 13, 2020)
Here now are the Chief Justice's remarks on how the Judiciary is trying to keep judges honest, and corruption-free.

He said that there has been great focus placed on international standards for judicial ethics:

Hon. Kenneth Benjamin - Chief Justice
"Article 11 of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), to which Belize is a signatory as of December 2016, requires each state party to a.) take measures to strengthen the integrity among members of the judiciary, and b.) take measures to prevent opportunities for corruption among members of the judiciary. It is recognized that the judiciary is integral to combatting corruption and that in order to fulfill its role, its members must be free of corruption. In 2016, the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched a global project to strengthen judicial integrity and to prevent corruption in judicial systems throughout the world. The global judicial integrity network provides a platform to promote training and learning among judges on judicial integrity and anti-corruption. One of the main activities had been the development of judicial ethics training tools for both newly-appointed and serving members of the judiciary. Pursuant to the process, the Hon. Madam Justice Young received training as a trainer at the UNODC in Vienna to deliver training in judicial ethics. Following up on that on May 10th and 12th, 2019, a workshop on judicial conduct and ethics was held for judges. This was followed on May 17th and 18th, 2019, by a workshop of similar content for Magistrates. Prior to the workshops, most of the judges and magistrates embarked on an E-learning course, and successfully completed it. There was an 80% passing mark, and they all attained it."

According to the Chief Justice, Belize has been recognized as the judiciary with the most judicial officers who have completed the electronic E-Learning course on judicial ethics, which are based on the Bangalore principles of judicial conduct.

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