The Judicial Ethics Commission considers it inadvisable for judges and magistrates to participate in programs or media that, due to their format, may incite heated debate, sensationalism or are identifiable by the general public as ideologically aligned with a biased political option and not plural.

The Commission reaches this conclusion when responding to a query on the way in which the appearance of impartiality of the judges may be affected as a result of their collaboration with the media in the different possible modalities.

The opinion has been prepared by this an independent body of the governing bodies of the Judiciary, made up of six members of the Judicial Career - directly elected by the Spanish judges and magistrates - and by an academic expert in Ethics or Philosophy of Law.

This issue, which has been addressed extensively and from different perspectives by the Commission in previous opinions, affects several of the principles contained in the Text of Principles of Judicial Ethics (whose spirit coincides with the Bangalore Principles on judicial conduct), such as They are that of independence (principle No. 9), that of impartiality (numbers 16, 19 and 20) and that of integrity (numbers 22 and 31).

The report starts from the premise that the members of the Judicial Career enjoy, like any citizen, the fundamental right to freedom of expression and, therefore, can intervene in the media and social networks.

However, the Commission understands that the exercise of this fundamental right by judges and magistrates has limits that arise from their status as representatives of the Judiciary, which is why their intervention in the media and social networks must always be presided over by the respect for the principles of independence, integrity, impartiality and transparency.

In other words, the members of the Judicial Career must exercise their freedom of expression with the prudence and moderation necessary to preserve their independence and appearance of impartiality and, with them, the trust of citizens in Justice.

Carried out in this way, with respect to the aforementioned principles, the intervention of judges and magistrates in the media and on social networks fulfills the pedagogical function of explaining the law and the way in which fundamental rights operate within the Judicial process.

The Commission reiterates that it is up to the judge to assess in each case the scope of prudence and moderation that the Principles demand in the exercise of their right to freedom of expression.

And you must always try to keep in mind that the citizens who are the recipients of your manifestations identify you as a representative of a power of the State.

This duty of caution must be even greater when the intervention of the judge is required in certain media, in which sensationalism or confrontation is sought in matters sensitive to public opinion.

This is the case, for example, of the programs of the so-called "pink press", "tabloid press", or television gatherings, with audiences estimated at millions of people, "which can trigger heated debates that are not very suitable for the nuance and in which any opinion of the judge can be understood by a legal professional but misinterpreted by the general public, so the risk that the confidence of citizens in the Administration of Justice is in danger is very great ", as it is also the possibility that "essential ethical principles such as integrity, independence and impartiality may be affected."

The intervention of judges and magistrates in this type of media or programs may be considered inadvisable due to the high risk of damage to the ethical principles that should guide the actions of the members of the Judicial Career.

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