WASHINGTON – After months of intense scrutiny of the Supreme Court’s ethics practices, all nine justices have signed a new code of conduct, formally laying out the rules of conduct for the high court. The code includes five canons that the justices must adhere to, such as upholding the “integrity and independence of the judiciary” and avoiding “impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities.”

While the code was derived from the code of conduct for federal judges on the lower courts, it has been tailored specifically for the Supreme Court. It lists circumstances in which a justice should disqualify themselves in a proceeding and warns against using resources for activities that don’t support official functions or other permitted activities.

The road to adopting a binding ethics policy has not been smooth for the Supreme Court. An investigation into the court’s ethics practices was launched after revelations that Justice Clarence Thomas accepted travel arrangements and vacations from a Texas real estate developer and GOP donor, and that Justice Samuel Alito traveled to Alaska for a fishing trip aboard a private jet provided by a GOP donor. Justice Sonia Sotomayor has also faced scrutiny over her court staff pushing public institutions to purchase her books and her refusal to recuse herself from copyright cases involving her book publisher.

The Senate Judiciary Committee opened an investigation into the court’s ethics practices and invited Chief Justice John Roberts to testify. While Roberts declined to appear before senators, the Judiciary Committee advanced legislation that would’ve required the Supreme Court to adopt an enforceable ethics code. Several of the justices indicated in public speeches that an ethics code was under discussion, suggesting there is a shift within the court in favor of adopting such rules.

The new code of conduct from the Supreme Court, which acknowledges past misunderstandings about the justices’ behavior, represents a step toward providing clarity and ethical guidelines for the highest court in the land. It remains to be seen how the policy will be enforced and whether it will address concerns about the justices’ conduct.