Professional conduct is the field of

regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

of members of

professional bodies A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) is a group that usually seeks to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that prof ...

, either acting under

statutory A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

or contractual powers. Historically, professional conduct was wholly undertaken by the private professional bodies, the sole legal authority for which was of a contractual nature. These bodies commonly established

codes of conduct A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the social norm, norms, rules, and responsibilities or proper practices of an individual party or an organization. Companies' codes of conduct A company code of conduct is a set of rules which is comm ...

and

ethical code Ethical codes are adopted by organizations to assist members in understanding the difference between right and wrong and in applying that understanding to their decisions. An ethical code generally implies documents at three levels: codes of b ...

s for the guidance of their members. In certain areas, where the

public interest In social science and economics, public interest is "the welfare or well-being of the general public" and society. While it has earlier philosophical roots and is considered to be at the core of democratic theories of government, often paired ...

is considered to be heavily engaged,

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...

has been enacted, either replacing professional regulation by statutory legislation, or by a form of supervision of the professional body by a statutory body.

European Union

The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) is the representative organisation of European lawyers through its member bars and law societies from 31 full member countries, and 11 further associate and observer countries. The CCBE has issued a Charter of core principles of the European legal profession and Code of Conduct for European lawyers. Activities include a committee on

Deontology In moral philosophy, deontological ethics or deontology (from Greek language, Greek: and ) is the normative ethics, normative ethical theory that the morality of an action should be based on whether that action itself is right or wrong under a ...

and a working group on Professional Indemnity Insurance. The European Council of Civil Engineers (ECCE) aims to promote the highest technical and ethical standards, to provide a source of impartial advice, and promote co-operation with other pan-European organisations in the construction industry. The ECCE formulates standards for a European Code of Conduct of the Civil Engineering Profession and disciplinary procedures applicable throughout the Union. Other activities include the preparation of a review of the civil engineering profession in Europe, covering, e.g., demand for liability insurance. The Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (CLGE) represents the interests of the geodetic surveying profession in the private and public sector from 31 countries of Europe. As of September 2009, the CLGE adopted the CLGE Code of Conduct of the European Surveyor and initiated the ratification process amongst members. It 'highly recommends that European surveyors hold professional indemnity insurance'.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, where a professional body is a

public body A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, but they are corporations owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in ...

within the meaning of the

Human Rights Act 1998 The Human Rights Act 1998 (c. 42) is an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received royal assent on 9 November 1998, and came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim was to incorporate into UK law the ...

(such as is the case with

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

, the

legal profession Legal profession is a profession in which legal professionals study, develop and apply law. Usually, there is a requirement for someone choosing a career in law to first pass a bar examination after obtaining a law degree or some other form of l ...

, and

financial services Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...

), its professional conduct machinery must conform to the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is a Supranational law, supranational convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Draf ...

.Harris 2011, annex

References

{{reflist

External links

National codes of conduct of the legal professions in Europe
Regulation Professional ethics

European Union

United Kingdom

See also

References

External links