What is the Nuremberg Code?

The Nuremberg Code is a 10-point set of research ethics principles for human experimentation created in Nuremberg, Germany, in August 1947. It was drafted by American judges during the trial of 23 Nazi doctors accused of human experimentation in concentration camps during World War II. The code was expanded from six points to ten after the trial verdicts were given. These principles emphasize voluntary consent, aim for meaningful results, and avoid unnecessary harm to subjects. They also state that the degree of risk to subjects should never exceed the benefits. The Nuremberg Code is a foundational document for medical ethics in human studies. It has influenced later documents such as the Declaration of Helsinki and remains relevant in contemporary clinical research.

Why was the Nuremberg Code created?

The Nuremberg Code was created in August 1947 in Nuremberg, Germany, by a panel of American judges during hearings involving 23 Nazi doctors. These doctors were accused of performing experiments on humans in concentration camps during World War II. The German doctors argued that their experiments were no different from pre-war practices, revealing a lack of international laws differentiating legal and illegal human experimentation. The code's principles emerged from the trial evidence, emphasizing voluntary consent, meaningful results, avoidance of suffering, and the right to terminate experiments.

What are some important rules in the Nuremberg Code?

The Nuremberg Code is a set of research ethics principles for human experimentation created in 1947 in Nuremberg, Germany, by a panel of American judges during the trial of 23 Nazi doctors accused of human experimentation in concentration camps during World War II. Key rules include: * The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential. * Experiments should yield meaningful results for society that can't be procured otherwise. * Experiments should be based on animal experimentation results and knowledge of the natural history of the problem under study. * Unnecessary physical and mental suffering and injury should be avoided. * The degree of risk to subjects should never exceed the humanitarian importance of the problem.

How did the Nuremberg Code change medical research?

The Nuremberg Code was created in 1947 in response to the unethical experiments performed on humans in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. The code is a 10-point statement that stresses the necessity of voluntary consent, requires that experiments yield fruitful results for society, and avoid unnecessary suffering and injury to subjects. Today, the principles of good clinical practice (GCP) guide study in human research. Foundational documents of GCP include the Nuremberg Code, the Declaration of Helsinki, the Belmont Report, and the Common Rule. The goal of GCP, like the Nuremberg Code, is to protect human subjects involved in ethical clinical trials.

What is informed consent, and how does it relate to the Nuremberg Code?

Informed consent means a patient or subject understands what's involved before agreeing to surgery or a medical experiment. The Nuremberg Code , created in 1947 after Nazi doctors were tried for human experimentation in concentration camps, defined ethical boundaries for medical experiments on people. The code's first point emphasizes that voluntary consent is absolutely necessary for human experimentation. This arose from the Nazi doctors' defense that their experiments were not different from prior American and German practices. Today, the Nuremberg Code is a foundational document for good clinical practice, protecting human subjects in ethical clinical trials.

How has the Nuremberg Code influenced human rights and ethics today?

The Nuremberg Code , created in 1947, is a ten-point ethical statement that defines permissible medical experimentation on human beings. It came about as a result of the Nuremberg trials, where Nazi doctors were accused of performing inhumane experiments on concentration camp inmates. The code emphasizes voluntary consent, requires that experiments yield meaningful results, and stresses the importance of avoiding unnecessary suffering and injury to subjects. It also states that the degree of risk to subjects should not exceed the humanitarian importance of the issue. Though the Code's legal force wasn't well established, it remains a landmark document in medical ethics and human rights, influencing later documents such as the Declaration of Helsinki .

Nuremberg Code

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Oskar Schroeder, in a suit and glasses, sits in court reading from a document while testifying at the Doctors' Trial in Nuremberg, Germany, 1947.

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Date:: August 1947

Location:: Germany; Nuremberg

Context:: World War II

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Nuremberg Code

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Top Questions

What is the Nuremberg Code?
The Nuremberg Code is a 10-point set of research ethics principles for human experimentation created in Nuremberg, Germany, in August 1947. It was drafted by American judges during the trial of 23 Nazi doctors accused of human experimentation in concentration camps during World War II. The code was expanded from six points to ten after the trial verdicts were given.

These principles emphasize voluntary consent, aim for meaningful results, and avoid unnecessary harm to subjects. They also state that the degree of risk to subjects should never exceed the benefits. The Nuremberg Code is a foundational document for medical ethics in human studies. It has influenced later documents such as the Declaration of Helsinki and remains relevant in contemporary clinical research.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Declaration of Helsinki: Origins and early revisions
2. Nuremberg Code
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Why was the Nuremberg Code created?
The Nuremberg Code was created in August 1947 in Nuremberg, Germany, by a panel of American judges during hearings involving 23 Nazi doctors. These doctors were accused of performing experiments on humans in concentration camps during World War II.

The German doctors argued that their experiments were no different from pre-war practices, revealing a lack of international laws differentiating legal and illegal human experimentation. The code's principles emerged from the trial evidence, emphasizing voluntary consent, meaningful results, avoidance of suffering, and the right to terminate experiments.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What are some important rules in the Nuremberg Code?
The Nuremberg Code is a set of research ethics principles for human experimentation created in 1947 in Nuremberg, Germany, by a panel of American judges during the trial of 23 Nazi doctors accused of human experimentation in concentration camps during World War II.

Key rules include:
* The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential.
* Experiments should yield meaningful results for society that can't be procured otherwise.
* Experiments should be based on animal experimentation results and knowledge of the natural history of the problem under study.
* Unnecessary physical and mental suffering and injury should be avoided.
* The degree of risk to subjects should never exceed the humanitarian importance of the problem.
1 Britannica Source
1. Nuremberg Code: The principles of the Nuremberg Code
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How did the Nuremberg Code change medical research?
The Nuremberg Code was created in 1947 in response to the unethical experiments performed on humans in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. The code is a 10-point statement that stresses the necessity of voluntary consent, requires that experiments yield fruitful results for society, and avoid unnecessary suffering and injury to subjects.

Today, the principles of good clinical practice (GCP) guide study in human research. Foundational documents of GCP include the Nuremberg Code, the Declaration of Helsinki, the Belmont Report, and the Common Rule. The goal of GCP, like the Nuremberg Code, is to protect human subjects involved in ethical clinical trials.
1 Britannica Source
1. Nuremberg Code
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What is informed consent, and how does it relate to the Nuremberg Code?
Informed consent means a patient or subject understands what's involved before agreeing to surgery or a medical experiment. The Nuremberg Code, created in 1947 after Nazi doctors were tried for human experimentation in concentration camps, defined ethical boundaries for medical experiments on people.

The code's first point emphasizes that voluntary consent is absolutely necessary for human experimentation. This arose from the Nazi doctors' defense that their experiments were not different from prior American and German practices. Today, the Nuremberg Code is a foundational document for good clinical practice, protecting human subjects in ethical clinical trials.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How has the Nuremberg Code influenced human rights and ethics today?
The Nuremberg Code, created in 1947, is a ten-point ethical statement that defines permissible medical experimentation on human beings. It came about as a result of the Nuremberg trials, where Nazi doctors were accused of performing inhumane experiments on concentration camp inmates.

The code emphasizes voluntary consent, requires that experiments yield meaningful results, and stresses the importance of avoiding unnecessary suffering and injury to subjects. It also states that the degree of risk to subjects should not exceed the humanitarian importance of the issue. Though the Code's legal force wasn't well established, it remains a landmark document in medical ethics and human rights, influencing later documents such as the Declaration of Helsinki.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Declaration of Helsinki: Origins and early revisions
2. Nuremberg Code
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Nuremberg Code, a 10-point statement designed to define the limits of permissible medical experimentation on human beings. It was developed in August 1947 in Nürnberg (Nuremberg), Germany, by a panel of American judges during hearings involving 23 Nazi doctors accused of conducting experiments on humans in concentration camps during World War II.

While some attribute the code to one single author, Harold Sebring (one of the three U.S. judges), others believe that two American doctors, Leo Alexander and Andrew Ivy (who both helped to prosecute the Nazi doctors), authored the code. It is now commonly believed that the 10 principles of the code simply came out of the evidence and results of the trial.

The German doctors argued that their experiments on humans were no different than those performed by Americans and Germans prior to the war. They were able to show that there were no international laws or even statements that showed a difference between legal and illegal use of humans in experimental research. This worried many of the prosecutors and expert witnesses for the prosecution, and, on April 17, 1947, a memorandum was sent to the United States Council for War Crimes outlining six points that would be used to define legal human research. Once the verdicts of the trials were given, the points were expanded to 10 points and were read into the records of the court.

The principles of the Nuremberg Code

The 10 points of the Nuremberg Code are:

Voluntary consent of the human subject in the experimentation is absolutely essential.
The results of the study should yield meaningful results that benefit society, unprocurable by other methods or means of study, and are not random or unnecessary in scope and nature.
Any experimentation should be designed and based on the results of animal experimentation, taking into consideration knowledge of the natural history of the issue under study that the results will justify the completion of the experimentation.
The methods used in the study should be conducted so as to avoid any unnecessary physical or mental suffering and injury to the subject or subjects taking part in the study.
No experimentation should be conducted where there is a prior reason to believe that disabling injury or death will occur, with the exception being if the experimental scientists conducting the study also serve as subjects in the study.
The degree of risk that subjects of the study undertake should never exceed the risk determined by the humanitarian importance of the issue under study.
All proper preparations should be made and proper facilities provided to protect the subject or subjects of the study against any possibility of injury, disability, or death.
All experiments should be conducted by persons qualified to do so. Through all stages of the experiment, all possible efforts should be taken to ensure the highest degree of skill and care are maintained.
At any point during the experiment, every human subject should be permitted to bring the experimentation to an end should the subject deem that they have reached the point where continuation of the experiment appears to the subject to no longer be possible.
As the experiment progresses, the scientist in charge must be in a state of mind that, should they deem that the continuation of the experiment could result in injury, disability, or death to the subject, the experiment will be terminated.

The trial judges did not specifically reference this code, which unfortunately caused the legal force of the code to not be well established. However, they did establish the code as a landmark document regarding the medical ethics of human study. In delivering their verdict, the judges made reference to the precautions that weren’t taken and the actions that were not permissible during the experiments run by the Nazi doctors that were ultimately included in the 10 principles of the code.

The impact of the Nuremberg Code today

Today, the principles of good clinical practice (GCP) are used to guide study in human research. Among the foundational documents of GCP are the Nuremberg Code, the Declaration of Helsinki, the Belmont Report (a summary of ethical principles and guidelines for the conduct of research involving human subjects), and the Common Rule (a codification of U.S. federal rules governing human testing). The idea in developing GCP was to take into consideration the code as well as all ideas and lessons learned while conducting clinical research worldwide. The goal of GCP—as was the goal of the Nuremberg Code—was and will always be the protection of human subjects that are part of all ethical clinical trials.

Some vaccine skeptics claimed that the COVID-19 vaccine violated the Nuremberg Code because they believed that the vaccine was experimental and that its recipients were unable to give informed consent. Although the Nuremberg Code has never been officially adopted by any country, it is a driving force in the decisions made when conducting human experimentation. The idea that the COVID-19 vaccine violates the code has been shown to be inaccurate since the clinical trials that were conducted were in line with the Nuremberg Code. The large trials conducted by drug manufacturers all had volunteers who were not forced to take part in the study, and the volunteers were able to opt out of the study at any time. The fully qualified scientists conducting these trials never considered the lives of participants to be in danger and believed that the results of this study were absolutely important for all humans.

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