Diyar Guldogan
30 July 2024•Update: 30 July 2024
WASHINGTON
US President Joe Biden called Monday for three "bold reforms" to restore trust and accountability to the Supreme Court.
"We need these reforms to restore trust in the courts, preserve the system of checks and balances that are vital to our democracy," Biden said during an address at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas to mark the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.
He called for a constitutional amendment which would make clear that there is no immunity for crimes a former president committed while in office.
"This nation was founded on the principle that there are no kings in America, each of us is equal before the law," he said.
"Just imagine what a president could do, trampling civil rights and liberties, given such immunity. The court is being used to weaponize an extreme and unchecked agenda," he added.
Secondly, the president said he is supporting an 18-year term limit for Supreme Court justices.
"The United States is the only major constitutional democracy that gives lifetime seats to its high court. Term limits would help ensure that the court’s membership changes with some regularity," he said.
That would make timing for court nominations more predictable and less arbitrary, he noted.
As a final reform, Biden called for a binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court's current ethics code is "weak," he said, adding: "Justices should be required to disclose gifts, refrain from public political activity and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have financial or other conflicts of interest."
