CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2025
| Author | Kipp, Konstantin |
|---|---|
| Title | Origins of Apex Courts' Codes of Conduct - A Comparative Analysis |
| Summary | While recent years have witnessed a “global crisis of constitutional jurisdiction,” at the same time—seemingly as a response—a trend toward the codification of legal ethics has evolved. Between January 2018 and November 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the German Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), and the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) all adopted codes of conduct. But why exactly have these courts—the most recent one being established 65 years ago—adopted such codes within a relatively short period? This thesis analyzes and compares the origins of these codes of conduct. It understands these origins in a twofold way. On the one hand, the codes result from efforts to articulate the judicial conduct expected at a given court in order to foster public trust. On the other hand, the decision to adopt a code—as well as the specific conduct it aims to prohibit—stems from instances of judicial misconduct. Accordingly, this analysis proceeds in two main steps. The first chapter examines the institutional cultures of the different apex courts and establishes definitions of the ideal judicial conduct the codes seek to entrench. In doing so, it identifies “anonymity” as a key differentiating factor between the courts. The second chapter analyzes the misconduct that occurred at these courts, along with both the stated reasons and the underlying motivations behind the trend to codify judicial ethics. Again, it highlights “anonymity” as a central factor—not only in the occurrence of misconduct, but also in shaping its specific forms. While a detailed analysis of the codes themselves or their enforcement falls beyond the scope of this study, one aim is to show, at various points, how either ideal judicial conduct or misconduct is reflected in the content of the codes. |
| Supervisor | Mathias Möschel |
| Department | Legal Studies LLM |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2025/kipp_konstantin.pdf |
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