Guides on Ethical Conduct of Research on Human Subjects

The following standards and codes described below developed from the results of the unethical and inhumane atrocities committed by the Nazis during their human experimentation projects in WWII. These documents are still used in modern regulations on human experimentation.*

Nuremberg Code (Nuremberg, Germany, 1947) The first set of guidelines was formulated from the Nuremberg Trials of 23 Nazi doctors and administrators dealing with their research experiments of camp prisoners that lead to death or permanent deformity. Before the code, there was no law that distinguished between legal and illegal research. Although the legalities of this code were not added directly to American and German law, the code paved the way for clear guidelines into human research ethics. This code has been incorporated as individual state laws, such as in California, as well as in other countries. Declaration of Helsinki (Helsinki, Finland, 1964) This set of principles was developed by the World Medical Association (WMA) to provide guidance to anyone conducting medical research and to protect the rights of individuals who participated in said research. The Declaration of Helsinki went through many revisions: 1975, 1983, 1989, 1996, 2000, and 2008. Currently, it is one of the main standards physicians look to for human research ethics. "In medical research on human subjects, considerations related to the well-being of the human subject should take precedence over the interests of science and society." The Belmont Report (Maryland, United States, 1978) This report was prepared by the U.S. National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. It was formulated after growing concerns about human research in the country, such as the Tuskegee Study. Today, the report is a historical document and continues to serve as a framework for biomedical and behavioral research laws in the U.S. *The oldest known moral guide is the Hippocratic Oath, an ancient document regarding medical conduct.