Morality, Law and Judicial Ethics

Abstract

This paper addresses the foundations of judicial ethics by investigating the normative role that its standards play in a model of practical reasoning that integrates morality and law. Based on the observation of a broad consensus in legal practice, as to the fact that there are moral requirements that apply specifically to judges, some possible solutions to the problem of their foundations are considered: are they a mere rhetorical resource? Do they constitute a special morality? Do they suppose the derivation, from normative ethics, of a single general moral principle of evaluation of actions? The conclusion is that none of these answers is satisfactory. The standards of judicial ethics are directly based on the role assumed by judges, based on an institutional commitment to legal practice, which gives rise to a fundamental moral obligation: to apply the law created by the legislature.