“Integrity is the cornerstone of any ethical relationship. Judges, prosecutors and lawyers shall all possess unwavering integrity of professional conduct. And not only this. They must also be particularly careful in their private lives. Observance of the highest standards of professionalism and refraining from any action that might compromise their integrity or cast doubt on their impartiality is key to the public interest.”
With these words, the NIJ Director Miglena Tacheva opened the Second session of the Human Rights Forum, dedicated to professional ethics and ethical challenges, which brought together 49 judges, prosecutors, investigating magistrates and representatives of the Bar Association.
The discussions among the participants focused on the principles of judicial ethics, collegiality and communication, international standards of professional conduct and integrity, as well as trust between representatives of the judiciary and the Bar. Panelists in the different parts of the Forum were Judge Rieke Lassen from the Oslo District Court, members of the Judicial Ethics Community Judge Angelina Lazarova, Junior Judge Kalina Stancheva, Junior Judge Radoslav Angelov, Junior Prosecutor Georgi Kodjanikolov, Prosecutor Sava Petrov, attorney Eli Hristova, attorney Penka Hristova, while the moderator of the event was Judge Rositsa Toncheva.
The online platform „Judicial Ethics“ and the CEELI Institute’s Handbook on the Independence, Impartiality and Integrity of the Justice System, translated with the financial support of the Embassy of the United States of America, were presented during the event. The forum was held within the framework of the project “Modern learning environment for judges, prosecutors and investigators and other members of the professional community”, funded by the Justice Programme of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021.