# Ethical code > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ethical_code > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ethical_code.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethical_code > Source revision: 1341388179 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Ethical concept "Code of ethics" redirects here. For the band, see [Code of Ethics (band)](/source/Code_of_Ethics_(band)). This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Ethical code" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (January 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (January 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message) **Ethical codes** are adopted by [organizations](/source/Organization) to assist their members or [employees](/source/Employee) in understanding the difference between [right](/source/Ethics) and [wrong](/source/Wrongdoing) and in applying that understanding to their decisions. An ethical code generally refers to either a code of [business ethics](/source/Business_ethics), a [codes of conduct](/source/Code_of_conduct) for employees, or a code of professional practice, and many organizations use the phrases *ethical code* and *code of conduct* interchangeably. Ethical codes are often adopted by management and also employers, not to promote a particular [moral theory](/source/Moral_theory), but rather because they are seen as pragmatic necessities for running an organization in a complex society in which moral concepts play an important part. Even organizations and communities that may be considered criminal in nature may have ethical codes of conduct, official or unofficial. They are distinct from [moral codes](/source/Moral_code) that may apply to the culture, education, and religion of a whole society. It is debated whether the politicians should apply a code of ethics,[1] or whether it is a profession entirely discretionary, just subject to compliance with the law: however, recently codes of practice have been approved in this field.[2] Acts which violate ethical codes may also violate a law or regulation and can therefore be punishable at law or by government agency remedies. Codes seek to define and delineate the difference between conduct and behavior that is [malum in se](/source/Malum_in_se), [malum prohibitum](/source/Malum_prohibitum), and good practice. Sometimes ethical codes include sections that are meant to give firm rules, but some offer general guidance, and sometimes the words are merely aspirational. In sum, a code of ethics is an attempt to codify "good and bad behavior".[3] ## Corporate or business ethics See also: [Business ethics](/source/Business_ethics) and [Code of conduct](/source/Code_of_conduct) This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Ethical code" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2026) (Learn how and when to remove this message) In [business](/source/Business), a code of ethics will start by setting out the values that underpin the code and will describe an organization's obligation to its stakeholders. The code is publicly available and addressed to anyone with an interest in that organization's activities and the way it operates. It will include details of how the organization plans to implement its values and vision, as well as guidance to staff on ethical standards and how to achieve them. However, a code of conduct is generally addressed to and intended for the organization's leaders and staff. It usually sets out restrictions on behavior, and will be far more focused on compliance or rules than on values or principles. In the United States, the [Federal Acquisition Regulation](/source/Federal_Acquisition_Regulation) (the federal rules concerned with [government contracting](/source/Government_contracting)) require contractors to "conduct themselves with the highest degree of [integrity](/source/Integrity) and [honesty](/source/Honesty)", and to this end demand that "contractors should have a written code of business ethics and conduct". The federal rule, built on earlier policies adopted by the [Department of Defense](/source/United_States_Department_of_Defense), [Veterans Affairs](/source/United_States_Department_of_Veterans_Affairs), and the [Environmental Protection Agency](/source/Environmental_Protection_Agency),[4] adds that "to promote compliance with such code of business ethics and conduct, contractors should have an employee business ethics and compliance training program and an internal control system".[5] ## Professional ethics See also: [Professional ethics](/source/Professional_ethics) A code of practice is adopted by a profession (or by a governmental or non-governmental organization) to regulate that profession. A code of practice may be styled as a code of [professional responsibility](/source/Professional_responsibility), which will discuss difficult issues and difficult decisions that will often need to be made, and then provide a clear account of what behavior is considered "ethical" or "correct" or "right" in the circumstances. In a membership context, failure to comply with a code of practice can result in expulsion from the professional organization. In its 2007 International Good Practice Guidance, *Defining and Developing an Effective Code of Conduct for Organizations*, the [International Federation of Accountants](/source/International_Federation_of_Accountants) provided the following working definition: "Principles, values, standards, or rules of behavior that guide the decisions, procedures and systems of an organization in a way that (a) contributes to the welfare of its key stakeholders, and (b) respects the rights of all constituents affected by its operations."[6] Listed below are a few example statements from the professional codes of the [Public Relations Society of America](/source/Public_Relations_Society_of_America) (PRSA) and the [Society of Professional Journalists](/source/Society_of_Professional_Journalists) (SPJ): **PRSA Code of Ethics[7]** - "Loyalty: We are faithful to those we represent, while honoring our obligation to serve the public interest." - "Fairness: We deal fairly with clients, employers, competitors, peers, vendors, the media, and the general public. We respect all opinions and support the right of free expression." **SPJ Code of Ethics[8]** - "Minimize Harm … Balance the public’s need for information against potential harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance or undue intrusiveness. … Balance a suspect’s right to a fair trial with the public’s right to know. Consider the implications of identifying criminal suspects before they face legal charges. …" - "Act Independently … Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived. Disclose unavoidable conflicts." ## Examples Wood tablet from [Jebel Moya](/source/Jebel_Moya), inscribed with an ethical code of conduct, relating to [Moses](/source/Moses) (line 7) and [Pharaoh](/source/Pharaoh) (line 12) **Medical workers and physicians** - [Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief](/source/Code_of_Conduct_for_the_International_Red_Cross_and_Red_Crescent_Movement_and_NGOs_in_Disaster_Relief) - [Declaration of Geneva](/source/Declaration_of_Geneva) - [Hippocratic Oath](/source/Hippocratic_Oath) - [Percival's *Medical Ethics*](/source/Thomas_Percival#Occupational_health_and_medical_ethics) - [Madrid Declaration on Ethical Standards for Psychiatric Practice](/source/Psychiatry#Ethics)[9] **Military, warfare, and other armed conflict** - [Bushidō](/source/Bushid%C5%8D) (Japanese [samurai](/source/Samurai)) - [Chivalry](/source/Chivalry) - [Code of the U.S. Fighting Force](/source/Code_of_the_U.S._Fighting_Force) - [International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation](/source/International_Code_of_Conduct_against_Ballistic_Missile_Proliferation) ("ICOC" or "Hague Code of Conduct") - [Israel Defense Forces Code of Conduct](/source/Israel_Defense_Forces#Code_of_conduct) - [Pirate code](/source/Pirate_code) - [Uniform Code of Military Justice](/source/Uniform_Code_of_Military_Justice) (United States) - [Warrior code](/source/Warrior_code) **Religious** - Code of [Ma'at](/source/Ma'at) ([Ancient Egypt](/source/Ancient_Egyptian_religion)) - [Eight Precepts](/source/Eight_Precepts) (Buddhism) - [Five Precepts](/source/Five_Precepts) (Buddhism) - [Golden Rule](/source/Golden_Rule) / Ethic of reciprocity (various) - [Seven Laws of Noah](/source/Seven_Laws_of_Noah) ([Judaism](/source/Judaism)) - [Patimokkha](/source/Patimokkha) (Buddhism) - [Quran](/source/Quran) ([Islam](/source/Islam)) - [Rule of St. Benedict](/source/Rule_of_St._Benedict) ([Christian monasticism](/source/Christian_monasticism)) - [Ten Commandments](/source/Ten_Commandments) ([Abrahamic religions](/source/Abrahamic_religions)) - [Ten Precepts](/source/Ten_Precepts_(Buddhism)) (Buddhism) - [Ten Precepts](/source/Ten_Precepts_(Taoism)) ([Taoism](/source/Taoism)) - [Yamas](/source/Yamas) and [niyama](/source/Niyama) ([Hindu scriptures](/source/Hindu_scriptures)) **Others** - [American Library Association Code of Ethics](https://www.ala.org/tools/ethics) - [Applied ethics](/source/Applied_ethics) - [Media ethics](/source/Media_ethics) - [Aviators Model Code of Conduct](/source/Aviators_Model_Code_of_Conduct) - [Global civics](/source/Global_civics) - [ICC Cricket Code of Conduct](/source/ICC_Cricket_Code_of_Conduct) - [Institute of Internal Auditors, Code of Ethics](/source/Institute_of_Internal_Auditors#Standards_and_Code_of_Ethics) - [Journalist's Creed](/source/Journalist's_Creed) - [Moral Code of the Builder of Communism](/source/Moral_Code_of_the_Builder_of_Communism) ## See also - [Medical ethics](/source/Medical_ethics) - [Public sector ethics](/source/Public_sector_ethics) - [IDF Code of Ethics](/source/IDF_Code_of_Ethics) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Buonomo, Giampiero (April–September 2000). ["Elementi di deontologia politica"](https://www.academia.edu/2064759). *Nuovi studi politici* (in Italian): 3–66. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Assemblée Nationale](/source/National_Assembly_(France)) (2 August 2017). ["Déontologie à l'Assemblée nationale"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140327042350/http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/qui/code_deontologie.asp). *Assemblée Nationale* (in French). Archived from [the original](http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/qui/code_deontologie.asp) on 27 March 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2017. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Code of Ethics"](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/code%20of%20ethics). *[Merriam Webster Dictionary](/source/Merriam_Webster_Dictionary)*. Retrieved March 23, 2017. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Federal Register, [Federal Acquisition Regulation; FAR Case 2006-007, Contractor Code of Ethics and Business Conduct: Proposed Rule](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2007/02/16/07-698/federal-acquisition-regulation-far-case-2006-007-contractor-code-of-ethics-and-business-conduct), published on 16 February 2007, accessed on 8 February 2026 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [General Services Administration](/source/General_Services_Administration), [Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 3.10 - Contractor Code of Business Ethics and Conduct](https://www.acquisition.gov/far/subpart-3.10), version effective 1 October 2025, accessed on 30 October 2025 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** PAIB Committee (31 May 2007). [*Defining and Developing an Effective Code of Conduct for Organizations*](http://www.ifac.org/publications-resources/defining-and-developing-effective-code-conduct-organizations). International Good Practice Guidance. The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-931949-81-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-931949-81-1).[*[page needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*] 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["PRSA Code of Ethics"](https://www.prsa.org/ethics/code-of-ethics/). *Public Relations Society of America*. Retrieved 19 August 2017. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-SPJ_8-0)** ["SPJ Code of Ethics"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190904203950/http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp). *Society of Professional Journalists*. 6 September 2014. Archived from [the original](https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp) on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2017. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Madrid Declaration on Ethical Standards for Psychiatric Practice"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160304140238/http://wpanet.org/detail.php?section_id=5&content_id=48). *World Psychiatric Association*. 21 September 2011. Archived from [the original](http://wpanet.org/detail.php?section_id=5&content_id=48) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2013. ## Sources - Ladd, John (1991). "The Quest for a Code of Professional Ethics: An Intellectual and Moral Confusion". In Johnson, Deborah G. (ed.). *Ethical Issues in Engineering*. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-13-290578-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-13-290578-7). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [851033915](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/851033915).[*[pages needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*] - Flores, Albert (1998). "The Philosophical Basis of Engineering Codes of Ethics". In Vesilind, P. Aarne; Gunn, Alastair S. (eds.). *Engineering Ethics and the Environment*. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 201–209. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-521-58112-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-521-58112-7). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [300458305](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/300458305). ## External links - Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions. ["Ethics Codes Collection"](http://ethics.iit.edu/ecodes/). [Illinois Institute of Technology](/source/Illinois_Institute_of_Technology). - ["Code of professional ethics: Version 2018"](https://aiic2.in1touch.org/document/6299/Code%20of%20professional%20ethics_ENG.pdf) (PDF). *[International Association of Conference Interpreters](/source/International_Association_of_Conference_Interpreters) (AIIC)*. 26 February 2014. - [The Fourteen Principles of Ethical Conduct for Federal Employees](https://www.justice.gov/archives/ncfs/page/file/761076/download) - [The Code of Medical Ethics of the American Medical Association](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3399321/) v t e Ethics Normative Consequentialism Deontology Care Particularism Pragmatic Role Suffering-focused Utilitarianism Virtue Applied Animal Insects Artificial intelligence Bio Business Computer Discourse Economic Engineering Environmental Land Legal Machine Marketing Meat eating Media Medical Nursing Professional Programming Research Sexual Technology Terraforming Uncertain sentience Work Meta Absolutism Axiological Cognitivism Realism Naturalism Non-naturalism Subjectivism Ideal observer theory Divine command theory Constructivism Euthyphro dilemma Intuitionism Nihilism Non-cognitivism Emotivism Expressivism Quasi-realism Universal prescriptivism Rationalism Relativism Skepticism Universalism Value monism vs. value pluralism Schools Buddhist Christian Protestant Confucian Epicurean Existentialist Feminist Islamic Jewish Kantian Rousseauian Stoic Tao Concepts Accountability Authority Autonomy Blame Common sense Compassion Conscience Consent Culture of life Desert Dignity Double standard Duty Equality Etiquette Eudaimonia Family values Fidelity Free will Good and evil Good Evil Problem of evil Greed Happiness Honour Ideal Immorality Importance Justice Liberty Loyalty Moral agency Moral circle expansion Moral courage Moral hierarchy Moral imperative Morality Norm Pacifism Political freedom Precept Punishment Rights Self-discipline Suffering Stewardship Sympathy Theodicy Torture Trust Utility Value Instrumental Intrinsic Japanese Vice Virtue Vow Wrong Ethicists Confucius Mozi Socrates Plato Aristotle Diogenes Mencius Xunzi Cicero Augustine Valluvar Aquinas Spinoza Butler Hume Smith Kant Hegel Schopenhauer Bentham Mill Kierkegaard Sidgwick Nietzsche Moore Barth Tillich Bonhoeffer Foot Rawls Dewey Williams Mackie Anscombe Frankena MacIntyre Hare Singer Parfit Nagel Adams Taylor Azurmendi Korsgaard Nussbaum Works Nicomachean Ethics (c. 322 BC) Tirukkural (c. 450 CE) Ethics (1677) A Treatise of Human Nature (1740) The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1780) Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785) Elements of the Philosophy of Right (1820) Either/Or (1843) Utilitarianism (1861) The Methods of Ethics (1874) On the Genealogy of Morality (1887) Principia Ethica (1903) The Right and the Good (1930) A Theory of Justice (1971) Animal Liberation (1975) After Virtue (1981) Reasons 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