EUROPEAN INFORMATICS SKILLS STRUCTURE (EISS - CEPIS)
CODE OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT

1. Foreword

The principles recognise that activities of a professional nature impose four specific duties on practitioners, i.e. to serve:

• the public interest
• the employer or client
• the informatics profession
• the professional practitioner.

The above duties imply particular requirements that need to be fulfilled by professional informatics practitioners, as indicated below.

2. Protection of Public Interest and Legal Compliance

• safeguarding public health, safety and the environment
• recognition of the rights of third parties, and that the intellectual property rights of others are not prejudiced
• recognition of the rights of individuals and groups to information privacy
• knowledge and understanding of relevant legislation, regulations and standards, and that the world of the professional complies with such requirements
• recognition of basic human rights and the avoidance of actions that have an adverse effect on such rights.

3 Responsibility to Employers and Clients

• performance of professional work that meets the requirements of the employer or client, drawing their attention to the consequences of professional judgement being ignored or overruled
• performance of professional work to time and to budget and the early notification to employer or client if such requirements are unlikely to be fulfilled
• not to offer or provide any inducement to a third party in return for the introduction of business from a client unless there is full disclosure of the facts to that client
• non-disclosure of, or non-authorisation to disclose, confidential information gained in the course of professional work, except with the prior written permission of the employer or client, or the use of such information for personal gain or that of a third party.

4. Professional Dignity and Promotion of Professional Aims

• protection of the reputation of the informatics profession and the improvement of professional standards through personal participation in their development, use and regulation and the avoidance of action which will affect adversely the good standing of the profession
• advancing public knowledge and the appreciation of informatics and countering wherever possible false or misleading statements detrimental to the profession
• encouragement of professional development and support to fellow practitioners and the provision of opportunities supporting the development of new entrants to the profession
• acting with integrity towards fellow practitioners and to members of other professions who may be engaged in related work and the avoidance of any activity which is incompatible with professional status.

5. Competence, Ethics and Impartiality

• upgrading personal professional skills and awareness of relevant informatics developments
• avoidance of claims to levels of competence not possessed
• acceptance of professional responsibility for work performed including the work of subordinates and associates under their direction, and not to terminate a professional assignment except for good reason and with reasonable notice
• avoidance of situations giving rise to conflict of interest to practitioners or clients and to make full disclosure to clients, in advance, of any such conflict of interest that may arise.

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