Ethical Principles – Article 4

Article 4 – Ethical Principles related to Best Practice

a    ICOMOS members give the best professional advice and services they can on cultural heritage conservation within their area of expertise.

b    ICOMOS members must take cognisance of the doctrinal texts adopted by the ICOMOS General Assembly. They inform themselves about the international conventions, recommendations and operational guidelines related to cultural heritage adopted by UNESCO and other international organisations that apply to their work.

c    ICOMOS members conduct their work in a professional and collaborative manner.

  1. ICOMOS members are objective, rigorous and scientific in their methods.
  2. ICOMOS members maintain, refine and update their knowledge on cultural heritage conservation.
  3. ICOMOS members acknowledge that cultural heritage conservation work requires an inter- disciplinary approach and promote cooperation with multi-disciplinary teams of professionals, decision makers and all stakeholders.
  4. ICOMOS members are respectful of cultural and linguistic diversity.
  5. ICOMOS members ensure that the general scope and context of their work, including constraints of any kind, are adequately explained.
  6. ICOMOS members make sure that complete, durable and accessible records are made of the conservation activities for which they are responsible. They ensure that such documentation is placed in a permanent archive as promptly as possible, and made publicly accessible when this is consistent with cultural and conservation objectives.

d    ICOMOS members carrying out work on cultural heritage use all reasonable skill, care and diligence to ensure that decisions on cultural heritage conservation are well founded and informed.

  1. ICOMOS members ensure that their decisions on cultural heritage conservation are based on sufficient knowledge and research and on current standards for good practice.
  2. ICOMOS members make every effort to ensure that viable options are explored, and that chosen options are adequately justified.
  3. ICOMOS members make every effort to ensure that important decisions on projects for the conservation of cultural heritage are not taken solely by the author of the project but are the result of a collective and interdisciplinary reflection.