Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions at IIT

Confidentiality of Information

1. Clause (iv) of the Provisional Code of Professional Conduct of the Institute requires each member "to respect any confidence gained in his or her professional capacity". The exchange of confidences of all types is a normal part of life in modern society, and every member will have developed a personal approach to the problem. Special standards will apply, however, in his or her professional activities.

2. Confidential information will be received

2.1. in a personal capacity, in day to day dealings with colleagues;

2.2. in official appointments on a personal basis such as examiner, or member of an official committee;

2.3. as a consultant;

2.4. as a member of an institution such as a commercial firm, an educational establishment, a research institute, or a government department;

2.5. as an appointed or elected participant or committee member (whether In an individual capacity or representing an employer or client) in an association, federation, or professional, technical or trade body.

3. It is on some occasions quite clear whether information is confidential, but common-sense judgment will frequently have to be applied or appropriate guidance sought.

4. Major areas of difficulty are

4.1. knowing how far a fact or combination of facts should be treated as confidential if not specifically defined, who may legitimately have access to it and whether disclosure even in outline constitutes a breach of confidence;

4.2. knowing when the circumstances have been overcome by time and confidentiality has diminished or disappeared;

4.3. resolving problems created by receipt of confidential Information in different personal roles;

4.4 deciding how far confidential information may properly be utilised without actual disclosure;

4.5. deciding, in a particular case, whether there are considerations of public duty which override those of confidentiality.

5. No hard and fast rules can be given on any of these points and the greatest care will often be needed. If necessary the independent opinion of a professional person with considerable experience should be sought, or indeed that of the Professional Conduct Committee. It should usually be possible to discuss the nature of a problem in outline or by analogy without breach of confidence.

6. It is possible, however, to illustrate the difficulties with some specific situation as follows:

6.1. A member may be involved in providing factual data or informed opinion in a legal action. The basic facts presented in open Court will cease to be confidential, particularly after judgment has been given, but details of the conduct of the case for prosecution or defence may need to be confidential in the lifetime of all concerned.

6.2. A member may be aware of the processes, recipes, operational characteristics, complaint levels or commercial data of an industrial firm. Some facts will cease to have relevance other than historical within days, but technical knowledge, in particular, may be a closely guarded secret not intended for wide disclosure even within the firm itself. Even the fact that a firm has been interested in acquiring information in a specific field may not be public knowledge and may be of value to others. Even if a Company ceases trading it may sell its "know-how" to a third party. Each firm will have its own policy on such matters. Some disclose as little as possible. Others may deliberately display the extent of their technical knowledge as part of their external public relations. A member should assume that all details of a company's operations are confidential in perpetuity unless he or she is personally aware of publication or knows the firm's policy regarding disclosure. It would, for example, be highly improper to make such information available to a competitive organisation. A member cannot reasonably conduct a professional life on the basis that he or she has no experience in the field in question, but should be very careful about the manner in which experience is disclosed in an application for employment or for membership of a professional body.

6.3. A member may be asked to referee a scientific paper prior to publication. All such dealings should normally be regarded as confidential to the publication in question and the referee should not disclose involvement without permission of the editor. The text of the paper will cease to be confidential when published but details of the editorial process will remain confidential, including for example, the number of times the paper was amended before final acceptance. The impropriety of publishing, under one's own name, new findings gleaned from a paper seen during the refereeing process will need no emphasis, but there will be more difficulty in dismissing the new findings when planning independent studies in the same field. In case of difficulty the editor should be consulted and, with his permission, the authors themselves.

6.4. When members receive information by virtue of membership of, or representation on bodies as described in 2.5., they should consider carefully whether this information is confidential to the organisation of, committee concerned; or whether it may properly be used for their own or their employers' advantage, or may properly be communicated in another organisation or committee; and they should treat the information accordingly. This is particularly a problem for members who participate in several activities, and necessitates identifying and remembering the origin of information of a possible confidential nature. It can, moreover, sometimes be unclear in which of several capacities an individual information-donor is acting, and in which of several capacities the recipient is receiving the information. Some organisations or committees establish their own rules on confidentiality, and identify items which are to be treated as confidential. Members participating in these should comply strictly with such requirements. If a member is in any doubt as to the propriety of using, passing on or withholding information gained in a particular capacity, he or she should specifically seek guidance from the body, committee chairman or individual concerned.

J. R. BLANCHFIELD,

Hon. Secretary.

JRB/PF/SEC 74-75/395