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The United States Supreme Court introduces ethical rules for the nine judges for the first time.
The announcement comes after criticism that some of them accepted gifts and went on free luxury trips.
The Supreme Court has lost the trust of many Americans after sensational information about Judge Clarence Thomas in particular.
In Congress, the Democrats have started investigations to be able to impose ethical rules on the court. But after an internal meeting among the nine judges, they themselves have drawn up a written set of regulations.
Already criticized
“In recent years, the lack of ethical standards has led to a misconception that the judges, unlike all other lawyers in this country, believe that they do not have to follow any ethical rules,” the nine write and continue.
“To eliminate this misconception, we establish these rules which are largely a record of the principles we have long seen as a guiding star for our behavior”.
The rules have already been put into use, the court announces. However, they have also been criticized. It is only the judges themselves who can investigate whether overstepping has been committed and the rules do not contain any information about possible penalties.
Several judges have variously come under fire for what have been seen as unethical decisions, such as accepting expensive gifts from businessmen suspected of wanting to influence the court.
Went on luxury trips
Most of all, there have been storms around the veteran Clarence Thomas, who for over 20 years has received luxury trips from one of the Republicans’ main benefactors. He has rejected the criticism and claimed that it was not necessary to report the gifts.
Thomas said in April that, after consulting with fellow judges in HD and other federal courts, he can determine that this kind of “personal hospitality from close personal friends, who have not had cases in court, does not need to be accounted for.”
The nine judges in the United States’ highest judicial instance have previously been required to report their finances annually and then account for the gifts they have received. Clarence Thomas has not reported any of the criticized trips.