Ethics Committee of the University of Basel

Purpose

The University Ethics Committee (UEK) is a permanent committee of the Senate mandated to ensure the optimal respect of the principles of research ethics at the University of Basel. The UEK is independent of directives. It is committed to comply with the regulations as well as the standards of good scientific practice in the fields concerned.

Tasks and areas of competence

The UEK advises the Rectorate on ethical matters on request and represents the University to the public on ethical issues. In addition, the UEK reviews on request the ethical acceptability of research projects at the University of Basel.

The UEK reviews on researchers' request the ethical conformity of research projects that do not fall under the Human Research Act (HRA), such as:

• Surveys, interviews, focus groups with minors, vulnerable or persons incapable of judgement

• Processing of non-anonymized personal data

• Processing of special categories of personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade-union membership, as well as processing of genetic data, biometric data, health-related data and data concerning a person’s sex life or sexual orientation (see Art. 9, GDPR)

• Research in social media

• Observational research

• Research with potential harm or risks for the participants or third parties

• Research that could give rise to technologies or know-how that could be used for military purposes or misused for terrorist purposes (Dual Use Research)

Retrospective Ethics Reviews

The UEK does not issue retrospective ethical reviews, i.e. after data collection has already started, but the UEK can give on researchers' request an advisory opinion.

Managing director: Dr. Isabelle Wienand