The present publication and its best practice guidelines are the product of these seminars. The guidelines come from the participants’ observations and comments in the seminars as well as from their answers to a questionnaire in which the judges were asked inter alia to define the terms “pressure factors” and “conflicts of interest”, as well as to describe whether the institutional, normative, and practical protections against such influences are sufficient (for the questionnaire, see Annex I). The guidelines are intended to serve judges as a tool for dealing with pressure factors and conflict of interest situations in their daily work, thus contributing to the further improvement of the independence of the judiciary.

The publication at hand is the translated version of the original Romanian text of the handbook. This explains why the handbook refers to the specific legal and factual situation in Romania. The Rule of Law Program intends to organize comparable seminars for judges in the other program participant countries, and to publish similar handbooks tailored to the specific needs of those countries.