It seems we can’t find what you’re looking for. Perhaps searching can help.
Deontology covers all the principles and values of good professional conduct. In public establishments, deontology is specifically aimed at the conduct of staff as civil servants, whatever their function. For scientific staff in public research establishments, deontology and scientific integrity are the two main components of professional integrity.
The values of public service
The essential principles of professional ethics for civil servants are set out in articles L121-1 to L124-6 of the General Civil Service Code. They are presented as “obligations” with their corollaries of “rights” and “protections” enjoyed by public sector employees.
In reality, these codified principles express nothing more than the values of public service to which we are all attached: dignity, impartiality, integrity and probity, neutrality, respect for the principle of secularity, equal treatment of all people, respect for their freedom of conscience and their dignity, professional secrecy, prevention and identification of any conflict of interest, the entirety of professional activity devoted to the person’s function, etc.
Breaches of professional ethics can be punished, but the civil service gives priority to prevention and provides advisory services to which all civil servants can turn in complete confidentiality when they wish to be enlightened about a situation in which they are or may be involved, or which they feel should be reported.
For example, the law gives “all public servants” “the right to consult a deontology officer, who is responsible for providing advice on compliance with ethical obligations and principles” (CGFP, art. L124-2) and for receiving reports as part of whistleblowing procedures (CGFP, art. L135-3). Along the same lines, it created “secularity referents” (“référents laïcité”) (CGFP, art. L124-3) (reference to the separation within the State of civil society and religious society and neutrality of the State towards religious confessions).
All civil servants have the right to consult a deontology officer.
Philippe Amiel, chairman of the Inserm College of Deontology (ICD)
News
The Inserm College of Deontology (CDDI)
The Inserm College of Deontology (ICD) was set up in 2021. It coordinates a three-pronged mission :
- Deontology referee
- Secularity referee
- Whistleblower referee
Absolute confidentiality
In all three functions, exchanges with the College are subject to the strictest confidentiality. College members are bound by professional secrecy.
The role of the College of Deontology
Deontology officers
In their role as Deontology officers, the members of the College of deontology provide personalised advice on all kinds of problematic situations involving deontology to those who wish.
This can involve questions about the possibility of taking a stake in the capital of a private company, the conditions under which a complementary professional activity of this type can be taken on, or situations where people are confronted, directly or indirectly, with situations that appear to present risks of a conflict of interest. Conflicts of interest can also arise in the workplace where people feel they are not being treated fairly and where life is particularly difficult.
College members are also called upon by the institution to give an opinion on certain situations, in particular on requests for mobility, to remove any doubt about the risk of a conflict or illegal stakes in an enterprise.
In certain situations, the College can act as an intermediary in an attempt to reconcile points of view and/or issue a recommendation. This type of deontological mediation remains confidential and involves no constraints or legal consequences.
Secularism Officer
In the French conception, respect for secularism (“laïcité” – see above) is one of the guarantees of neutrality in the public services.
Since 2022, College members have acted as secularity referents (pending the appointment of a referent in accordance with the rules of the new decree no. 2021-1802 of 23 December 2021 on secularity referents in the civil services). In this role, they provide information and advice on specific situations that are brought to their attention.
More generally, College members provide information and training on secularism, and the promotion of this cardinal republican value in France.
Whistleblowing referent
This involves collecting information from people who report acts that they consider reprehensible, especially when they pose a risk or danger to people, public health or the environment.
The “whistleblowing system” is a procedure that guarantees that the report will be dealt with in a given timeframe, and that it will not get bogged down or stifled by the officialdom involved. Furthermore, it protects whistleblowers against reprisals.
If Inserm is involved in any way, the matter can be referred to the College of Deontology by any person, whether or not they are Inserm employees. For Inserm employees, this is an alternative to reporting through the hierarchy.
In 2022, the legislation clarified the definition and strengthened protection for whistleblowers.
How to contact the College of Deontology CDDI
The College can be contacted at any time very simply , without any particular formalities, by telephone or e-mail, with the guarantee of absolute confidentiality. When necessary – to organise a mediation, for example – anonymity can only be lifted with your express agreement.
College of Deontology
+33 (0)7 64 79 66 01
deontologue@inserm.fr
Updated on 21/07/2024.
Resources
No resource at the moment
