Institut Pasteur Ethics Committee (CEIP)
A forum for ethical reflection
The questions raised by scientific progress and research practice are becoming increasingly complex with each new breakthrough. For this reason, in 2020 the Institut Pasteur re-established the Ethics Committee set up by a group of scientists in 1992. The aim of this committee is to reflect on major ethical and social issues related to the Institut Pasteur's activities. It seeks to foster dialog on ethics both within the Institut Pasteur and beyond, as shown by its recent opinions on fake news (2022) and dual use research of concern (2023).
Duties of the CEIP
The CEIP reports directly to the Institut Pasteur President. It is an advisory body tasked with informing institutional decision-making on matters with an ethical dimension, stimulating debate and fostering a culture of ethics and responsibility within the institution. Each year it convenes the other committees responsible for ethics, professional conduct, scientific integrity, responsible research and compliance at the Institut Pasteur. The CEIP also liaises with other ethics committees at national level (the French National Consultative Ethics Committee – CCNE) or within other research and educational institutions, such as the CNRS and Inserm.
Regulatory basis for the CEIP
The CEIP oversees application of the Institut Pasteur's Ethics Charter and is responsible for updating its content. The Ethics Charter outlines four of the Institut Pasteur's fundamental principles underpinning research practice, namely that research should be:
- conducted with integrity to guarantee reliable and independent research findings;
- respectful of human dignity, in accordance with the most stringent standards for the protection of individuals;
- fair and equitable in the countries where it takes place; it should be transparent, neutral and peaceful and take into account any situations of vulnerability;
- responsible and in the public interest.
Research should serve the common good and be based on a relationship of trust between society and the scientific community.
Public opinions issued by the CEIP
- Opinion on the Institut Pasteur's management of misinformation targeted at the institution or its staff (in French)
- Opinion on dual use research of concern (in French)
Members
The CEIP has ten members: a chair and nine members divided equally into three subcommittees:
- Biological and Medical Sciences
- Humanities and Social Sciences
- Civil Society
At least half of the members do not belong to the Institut Pasteur and are neither biologists nor physicians. The committee is gender balanced.
CEIP chairship in 2024
- Chair: Margaret Buckingham
- Vice-Chair: Philippe Sansonetti
Contact