Ethics Committee

The Ethics Committee is appointed by the Academic Council upon the nomination of the Principal to provide advice and guidance to the academic community at the EUI on all matters pertaining to academic / research ethics and to confirm - where needed - to external parties ethical compliance of research projects on behalf of the EUI.

Consultation and involvement of the Ethics Committee is always voluntary and the Committee is only convened at the explicit request of scholars needing an assessment of the ethical dimensions of a research project.

A second role of the Ethics Committee is to be involved in procedures of investigation of research misconduct set by the Code of good practice in academic research.

Functions of the Ethics Committee

To provide advice and guidance to the EUI academic community on all matters pertaining to academic research ethics.
To advise the Academic Council on compliance with the ‘code of good practice in academic research’ of the various academic activities at the EUI.
To provide guidance and academic support to scholars on ethical issues in respect of teaching, research and other academic activities.
To confirm to external parties on behalf of the institution compliance with ethical standards in respect of research projects undertaken by scholars at the EUI.
To advise the Executive Committee and the Academic Council of any policies that may be required in relation to accepting funds from particular sponsors of research.
To act as an investigative/consultative body for any disputed matter concerning research ethics and conduct.
To make recommendations to the internal EUI Disciplinary Committee on what action, if any, should be taken as a result of the investigations.

Composition of the Ethics Committee

The Committee shall be composed of six voting members:

Two Professors
Two Research Fellows
The Dean of Graduate Studies
One Researcher Representative

The Chair is approved by consensus among members. The Chair person of the Ethics Committee may invite persons (internal or external experts who are not involved in the disputed matter) and who are not members to attend meetings, to give advice where their expertise is required and to participate in discussions. Those who are consulted in this way by the Ethics Committee have therefore voice but no vote.