A new set of guidelines aimed at promoting higher standards of conduct for Bermuda?s Judges and Magistrates has been published.

Chief Justice Richard Ground said the information ? featuring guidance on impartiality, extra judicial activities, conflicts of interest and behaviour in court ? was not intended to be a code of conduct.

?It does not identify judicial misconduct,? he states in a Government notice published on Friday. ?It is advice.?

The Chief Justice said that the guidelines were made after consultation with Supreme Court Judges and Magistrates, and took into account ethical rules they already work with.

?The rules embodied in this code have, in substance, been accepted and observed by the Bermudian judiciary for a long number of years, and this code, in effect, reflects these long accepted rules of behaviour.?

The aim of the guidelines, he added, was for Judges and Magistrates to have easy access to values they have always worked with. Publication of them will ?strengthen trust in the administration of justice?, the Island?s senior legal official added.

He said the guidelines were not principally concerned with misconduct that would justify removal from office. ?They are concerned with the promotion of higher standards of conduct,? said the Chief Justice.

Information on outside court work with educational, religious or charity organisations states that it was not always necessary for judges to withdraw from such service, although ?caution? was required. The guidelines state it was important that the activity of the organisation did not reflect negatively upon the Judge?s impartiality or court duties.

Involvement was not appropriate when the organisation in question was likely to be regularly involved in contested court proceedings, its finances were unsound or its objectives included law reform or political change.

Meanwhile, the guidelines outline advice about accepting gifts and expenses.

They also warn that judges should always be careful about being present at any place ?where a gathering may not be conducted in accordance with law? or ?where they may risk associating with people who are involved in criminal activities?.