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Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University

Judicial Ethics

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Legal Profession

Introduction: Disciplining Judges – Exercising Statecraft, Richard Devlin, Sheila Wildeman Jan 2021

Introduction: Disciplining Judges – Exercising Statecraft, Richard Devlin, Sheila Wildeman

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Globally, countries are faced with a complex act of statecraft: how to design and deploy a defensible complaints and discipline regime for judges. In this collection, contributors provide critical analyses of judicial complaints and discipline systems in thirteen diverse jurisdictions, revealing that an effective and legitimate regime requires the nuanced calibration of numerous public values including independence, accountability, impartiality, fairness, reasoned justification, transparency, representation, and efficiency.

The jurisdictions examined are Australia, Canada, China, Croatia, England and Wales, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa, and the United States. The core findings are four-fold. First, the norms and practices …


From Archetypes To Architects: Re-Envisioning The Role Morality Of Trial Level Judges, Richard Devlin Frsc Jan 2011

From Archetypes To Architects: Re-Envisioning The Role Morality Of Trial Level Judges, Richard Devlin Frsc

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

In this article, I build upon the concepts of role-differentiated behaviour and role morality to reflect upon the privileges and responsibilities of being a trial judge. In particular, I will suggest there are at least two (potentially competing) professional archetypes for judicial role morality, which at this point I will tentatively describe as the mechanics and the innovators. Both of these archetypes agree that the governing principles should be integrity, honesty, independence, impartiality, fairness, et cetera, but they differ in their understanding of how best to put these ideals into effect in the real world. In due course, I will …


(Re) Constructing Judicial Ethics In Canada, Richard Devlin Frsc Jan 2010

(Re) Constructing Judicial Ethics In Canada, Richard Devlin Frsc

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Any discussion of judicial ethics and accountability -- whether it is at the state, national, or international level-inevitably requires engagement with two key ideals: impartiality and independence. Ideals are important because they can provide a trajectory for human action. But ideals can also be a problem because their generality and abstraction can cause one to prevaricate -- or even pontificate -- when it comes to the immediate and the pragmatic Indeed, there are times when ideals such as impartiality and independence can become false gods insofar as they promise salvation but ultimately, deliver little. Consequently, when one is asked to …