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 is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

, either acting under

statutory A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by l ...

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 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 commonly writt ...

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 bu ...

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

public interest The public interest is "the welfare or well-being of the general public" and society. Overview Economist Lok Sang Ho in his ''Public Policy and the Public Interest'' argues that the public interest must be assessed impartially and, therefore ...

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 to ...

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

Th
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: + ) is the normative ethical theory that the morality of an action should be based on whether that action itself is right or wrong under a series of rules and principles, r ...

and a working group on Professional Indemnity Insurance. Th
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. Th
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, thus, they are statutes owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in s ...

within the meaning of the Human Rights Act 1998 (such as is the case with

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care p ...

, 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 obtain a law degree or some other form of legal education. It is difficult ...

, and

financial services Financial services are the economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, accountancy companies, ...

), its professional conduct machinery must conform to the European Convention on Human Rights.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