The vice-president of the Supreme Court, João Beirão, calls on judges to comply with the Code of Conduct in their actions, avoiding proceeding on the basis of emotion, which necessarily involves a thorough and prudent analysis of cases before making a decision.

According to João Beirão, the independence of the courts presupposes that they are served by immaculate judges in order to win the trust of the citizens, judges who humbly seek the truth by reconstructing the facts.

The vice-president of the Supreme Court points out that sometimes a word out of a judge's mouth can destroy a country, which is why they shouldn't speak out at the wrong time.

"The quality of the judge as a sovereign body, a representative of the judiciary, puts him in a position where, when he applies the law, he speaks on behalf of the state," said Beirão during the National Seminar to Disseminate the Ethical Commitment of Judges in Mozambique.

Quoted by AIM, the source stressed that a judge's independence does not mean freedom to do what he wants, how he wants, when he wants and when it suits him.

The judge's actions must be guided by the ethical and moral principles that are required of him in the performance of his duties.

He therefore urged the magistrates to act with the utmost prudence and responsibility in line with ethical principles.

"Corruption is an evil that corrodes and destroys society, so it cannot characterize a judge. A dishonest judge prostitutes his name, compromises respect, vulgarizes judicial power," he warned, adding that arrogance, arrogance and authoritarianism should not characterize a good judge.

The statements come as part of the National Seminar to Disseminate the Ethical Commitment of the Judges of Mozambique, a document approved by the Superior Council of the Judiciary, code of ethics for judicial magistrates through resolution number 2/CSMJ/8/2022.

The representative of the coordinator of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, Gina Montserraj Pagespett, said on the occasion that the event was part of the "integro component", a program that aims to support the fight against corruption "

This is an initiative supported by the European Union through the Spanish Agency.

The executive director of the Center for the Development of Democracy (CDD), Adriano Nuvunga, said that society was crying out for justice.

"Civil society sees judges as a presence of integrity, when we refer to judges as a class, we look at you as a prism of integrity," he said.

For his part, the President of the Mozambican Bar Association, Carlos Martins, believes that corruption is a question of perception.

"I believe that judges should be accessible to the people they serve, they should be close to them, that's my first observation."

Regarding corruption in the judiciary, he said "there are cases that reach the Council of the Judiciary, but there is a general perception and we take documents and ask: is this ignorance?".