This contribution reviews the three main principles enshrined in judicial ethics (independence, impartiality and integrity) and shows how ethics have become pillars for the Rule of Law (legality, separation of powers, and protection of fundamental rights and freedoms). Within the professional ethics of judicial power, a distinction is made between the ethic virtues of an impartial, independent and upright judge or magistrate, which are related to the principles of judicial ethics, and the professional skills exercised by the judge or magistrate in his or her specific professional activity (diligence, listening skills, empathy, circumspection, caution, etc.). The task of judging is proper to a “craftsman of the law”. The author reflects on the ethical duty of judicial secrecy, and how judicial secrecy and judicial discretion in an environment of transparency implies that every judgment must be “pronounced according to the right reason of prudence”.