Canon #10

Engineers who are members of the Society shall endeavor to abide by the Constitution, By-Laws and Policies of the Society, and they shall disclose knowledge of any matter involving another member’s alleged violation of this Code of Ethics or the Society’s Conflicts of Interest Policy in a prompt, complete and truthful manner to the chair of the Committee on Ethical Standards and Review.

These two new canons speak to ethical activities of members and non-members. Canon 10 states that members strive to abide by the rules of ASME and that they have a duty to inform the appropriate committee of an alleged violation of the Code of Ethics or the Conflicts of Interest Policy. But Canon 9 says such allegations should not be frivolous – there must be a basis for such allegations. The gray area is readily evident. What you think may be strong evidence may be viewed as weak or frivolous by the “accused”. As professionals, we have the obligation to be honest and truthful in our professional dealings with others. It is unethical (and perhaps libelous) to bring unsubstantiated charges against another. At the same time, however, we have duty to uphold the integrity of the profession which may require informing appropriate ASME committees of suspected unethical behavior.

Should a complaint be made under Canon #10 and subsequent investigation reveals that there was no violation of the code, then further action on the complainant’s part would violate Canon #9.

It is important to realize that there may be a legal duty to inform authorities if the suspected behavior violates federal, state, or local law. For example, you are required to inform federal officials of violations of certain environment.