Opinion 91-07

January 24, 1991

Digest:         A judge may present a paper and give a speech at a symposium in a foreign country on the role of the courts, and may accept travel and accommodation expenses for the judge and the judge’s spouse from the sponsoring institute.

Rules:          22 NYCRR §§100.4(a); 100.6

Opinion:

         A judge has been invited by an institute to present a paper and give a speech at a symposium in a foreign country focusing on the American judicial system and its administration, origins and theoretical foundation, and changes and future prospects. The judge’s paper, about thirty pages, will focus on criminal procedure, and the judge’s speech, ten to fifteen minutes, will address the future of justice. The institute has offered to pay for the travel and accommodation expenses of the judge and the judge’s spouse.

         The proposed paper and speech fall within the permissible activity outlined in section 100.4(a) of the Rules of the Chief Administrator, which authorizes judges to write and lecture about the law and the legal system.

         The institute’s payment of travel and accommodation expenses for the judge and the judge’s spouse is allowed by section 100.6 of the Rules. However, as outlined in that provision, the compensation must be reasonable and limited to the actual cost of travel, food and lodging incurred by the judge and the judge’s spouse.