The US Supreme Court has bowed to calls to introduce its first ethical code - but without setting out how it would be enforced. The code, signed by all nine serving justices, was adopted in the wake of a Congressional inquiry into allegations against the long-serving Justice Clarence Thomas. 

According to a statement yesterday by the court, the code of conduct 'aims to set out succinctly and gather in one place the ethics rules and principles that guide the conduct of the members of the court'. It adds: 'For the most part these rules and principles are not new.'  However the absence of a formal code 'has led in recent years to the misunderstanding that the justices of this court, unlike all other jurists in this country, regard themselves as unrestricted by any ethics rules'.

Provisions in the code state that justices 'should not allow family, social, political, financial, or other relationships to influence official conduct or judgment' and require that outside compensation and reimbursed expenses should not give the appearance of influencing the justice’s official duties or otherwise appear improper'. 

The American Bar Association, a prominent advocate for a code welcomed the announcement as 'a step that will help to promote public confidence in the court'. 

It added that 'While today’s code does not address the important issue of enforcement, the ABA appreciates that Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. has directed a study of best practices for complying with the code.'