Charter of Ethics of the University of Liège

Academic freedom guarantees for each actor involved in scientific research or teaching activities carried out at the University (or affiliated institutions), as well as for students, freedom of speech, freedom to act and to communicate information, as well as freedom to seek and disseminate facts and knowledge without restriction. The intended purpose and intrinsic responsibility this freedom is destined to serve, as incumbent upon the University, relates to the development of new knowledge and to its dissemination to the widest audience possible. It involves, for university teaching and scientific research establishments (or affiliated ones), a certain institutional autonomy with respect to political, religious, or economic powers.

All members of university staff, as well as students, must act as the custodians of the academic freedom they enjoy.

Academic freedom constitutes an aspect of freedom of speech as guaranteed both by Article 19 of the Constitution and by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR, Mustafa Erdoğan and Others v. Turkey, May 27, 2014; Arbitration Court, November 23, 2005, #167/2005). Academic freedom of speech is also directly enshrined in Article 15, § 3, of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (states “undertake to respect the freedom indispensable for scientific research and creative activity”). This freedom is not absolute, but is subject to the necessary and proportionate restrictions imposed by all other rights and obligations arising especially from international law.

Authorship refers to a set of rights conferred on a natural or legal person in relation to any original intellectual creation of which they are the source, whether literary, artistic or scientific. This applies to publications, course materials, software, audiovisual works, or databases, for instance.

These refer to the set of behaviors, norms, and rules relating to the practice of a profession that are agreed upon by consensus and are considered indispensable to professionals of the field for reasons of quality, hygiene, safety, legislative compliance or ethics. These best practices are determined by communities of experts and are disseminated in the form of guides, charters or reference documents. For example, GLPs (Good Laboratory Practices) and GCPs (Good Clinical Practices) are subject to updates by international bodies.

Civility is the adherence to the conventions and good manners observed within a social group. Quasi-synonymous with “politeness,” the notion of civility furthermore includes the emotional dimensions of affability, friendliness, and sociability.

Collegiality represents a fundamental principle of operation in academic environments, based on cooperation between peers in decision-making, evaluation, and university governance. Collegiality implies mutual respect, attentiveness to divergent opinions, the recognition of each person’s competence, and shared decision-making in a democratic and responsible spirit.

A relationship of interest refers to any direct or indirect relationship, be it personal, professional, financial, scientific or ideological, that an individual has with an organization, company, person or cause. Such relationship is not inherently problematic or illegitimate in and of itself, but must be declared if relevant within a given context (research, teaching, evaluation, recruitment, etc.).

There is a conflict of interest when a relationship of interest compromises or could reasonably be deemed to compromise the objectivity, impartiality or integrity of a decision, judgment or professional act. It can be actual, potential or apparent. It must be reported and managed in a transparent manner.

Discrimination consists in unjustifiably treating persons or groups of persons differently on the basis of criteria that Belgian law designates as “protected,” also called “protected characteristics.” A person who is discriminated against is treated less favorably than others in a comparable situation, without valid reason. Discrimination can be direct or indirect.

In Belgium, discrimination is prohibited in the spheres of social life to which the legislation applies, such as employment, supply of goods and services, healthcare, education, and housing.

The Anti-Racism Law of July 30, 1981, concerns protected characteristics designated as “racial” (such as nationality, race, skin color, ancestry, and national or ethnic origin). The Anti-Discrimination Law of May 10, 2007, concerns protected characteristics other than “racial” (such as age, sexual orientation, civil status, birth, wealth, philosophical, religious or political beliefs,  trade union convictions, health condition, disability, physical or genetic characteristics, social background, and language).

The Gender Law of May 10, 2007, for its part, concerns protected characteristics specifically relating to gender (such as sex, pregnancy, medically-assisted procreation, childbirth, breastfeeding, maternity, family responsibilities, gender identity, gender expression, sexual characteristics, and medical or social transition).

It should be noted that the protected criteria defined by law are characteristics that may or may not result from personal choice.

Discrimination, punishable by law, is one of the forms of social stigma, which includes the set of negative attitudes, beliefs, judgments or behaviors toward a person or social group, due to certain real or assumed characteristics, which lead to their rejection and social exclusion. (Source: Unia)

It is possible that the goods and technologies developed in the context of research conducted at the University may qualify as “dual-use” goods and technologies, that is, as ones intended for civil applications but that could be diverted for hostile purposes (military applications, weapons of mass destruction, human rights violations...), and therefore present a potential risk for the University. These goods and technologies are subject to Dual-Use regulations.

“Ethics” is the term most frequently used today to refer to both (i) a set of moral principles that guide judgment (good/bad, right/wrong, acceptable/unacceptable), decision, and action, or (ii) the approach consisting in identifying, formulating or interpreting moral principles in a given field of action or decision-making. In both senses, one may therefore speak, for instance, of medical ethics, animal ethics, research ethics, environmental ethics or of business ethics. Etymologically speaking, the term “ethics” only differs from the term “morality” by its linguistic origin, both terms referring to the idea of ways of living, or mores (ethos in Greek, mores in Latin). 

This text employs morality in the sense covered by the French equivalent “moralité”. The contemporary French lexicon, influenced by the social and historical sciences, tends to reserve the term “moralité” for designating the system formed by the moral principles, rights, obligations, and duties incumbent upon individuals within a given society or community. An adjacent notion is that of “deontology,” which designates the duties, obligations, and rights within a given professional field. As for the term “ethics,” it more strongly suggests the idea of intellectual, reflexive, and deliberative activity arising from problems and dilemmas that “ready-made” morality or professional deontology are unable to solve. While ethics, in this sense, may concern personal or private life, it also has a place in public and professional life; in such cases, ethical reflection and deliberation are most often collective, entrusted to committees possessing both the expertise and legitimacy to establish common principles of action, rules, and shared best practices.

The conventional distinction between ethics and morality should not obscure the fact that, as suggested by our initial definition, ethical thinking and deliberation, although involving critical thinking and pluralism, remain linked in one way or another to the moral backdrop of our social contract, in particular that of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (UN, 1966), the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950 and its additional protocols, and Title II of the Belgian Constitution.

Plagiarism is the act of misappropriating the ideas, formulations, data, results, figures or intellectual productions of others and presenting them as one’s own.

Self-plagiarism is the act of reusing one’s own previous works (text, data, results, publications, etc.) without identifying them as such, and presenting them as unpublished.

Pluralism refers to an ethical and institutional principle that recognizes and respects the diversity of opinions, scientific approaches, and convictions of a philosophical, political or religious nature within the university community. Pluralism ensures an environment that is inclusive, critical, and open to debate, in line with the University’s missions of education, research, and service within a democratic framework.

The principle of exemplarity designates the idea according to which members of the university community (in particular, but not exclusively, teachers, researchers, supervisors, and authorities) must embody the values, behaviors, and ethical standards upheld by the University.

Under Belgian law, psychosocial risks at work are defined as the probability that one or several workers will suffer psychological harm, which may also be accompanied by physical harm, as a result of exposure to elements of work organization, content, working conditions or interpersonal relationships at work, upon which the employer has an impact and that may objectively involve harm.

Psychological harm may, for instance, take the form of anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts. Physical harm may for instance take the form of sleeping problems, high blood pressure, palpitations, bowel issues problems.

These risks can also have negative consequences for the whole organization, such as a toxic work environment, conflicts, additional costs entailed by workplace accidents, absenteeism, or a decline in the quality of work or in productivity.

The most well-known manifestations of psychosocial risks at work are stress, burn-out, work-related conflicts, as well as violence, and moral or sexual harassment in the workplace. (Source: FPS – Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue)

Reproducibility is the ability of a third party to obtain the same study results by reanalyzing the data with the same code or algorithms as supplied by the authors of a study. Reproducibility ensures transparency in research.

Replicability characterizes research that can be replicated by another research team using the same methods (same protocol, same experimental conditions, etc.), but with independent data, while entailing similar results. Replicability is one of the means for ensuring the robustness of research.

The notion of “sustainability,” preferred over that of “sustainable development” due to the latter’s controversial and paradoxical nature, refers to the ability to maintain viable human living conditions over time. It is based on the link between the preservation of the environment, social justice, and economic robustness. It aims to build a future that is compatible with the Earth’s biophysical limits – entailing, for instance, the responsible management of natural resources and the protection of ecosystems (Rockström et al., 2009) – as well as with the satisfaction of fundamental human needs, such as access to healthcare, quality education, freedom of speech, and gender equality (Raworth, 2017). It intends for human societies to be organized according to principles of sustainability and equity for present and future generations (Renouard et al., 2020). This vision is in line with that carried by the United Nations, especially through its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, which call for a systemic transformation of production, consumption, and governance models, in order to promote inclusive and resilient societies that respect planetary boundaries.  Thus, sustainability is not limited to the quest for a static equilibrium between the environmental, social, and economic spheres but involves a deep transformation of lifestyles and institutions, aimed at environmental and social justice on a global scale.