Ethics Committee

In the higher education sector, ethics committees are independent bodies established at public universities, private universities, and universities of applied sciences, which primarily review and critically assess applied research involving human subjects.

In the hospital sector, ethics committees are mandated by federal legislation under § 8c of the Federal Hospitals and Health Resorts Act (KAKuG). This obligation is mirrored in § 30 of the Universities Act 2002 (UG) for medical universities and for universities with a medical faculty.

In addition, other public universities and private universities have also established ethics committees or ethics advisory boards, as the issues of ethical compatibility and professional responsibility for certain studies and research projects have become increasingly important in recent times. In doing so, the ethical principles of the European Charter for Researchers and other international standards are also observed. The remit and composition of the committee are autonomously defined in its rules of procedure and reflect its research focus.

Ethics committees should be distinguished from units at some universities that provide students and researchers with advice and support on questions relating to research ethics and research integrity, but generally do not carry out a review of research projects.

For the purposes outlined under the duties of the committee, the DPU has voluntarily established a Committee for Scientific Integrity and Ethics (Ethics Committee or EC).