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THE NUREMBERG CODE1. The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential.This means that the person involved should have legal capacity to give consent; should beso situated as to be able to exercise free power of choice, without the intervention of any elementof force, fraud, deceit, duress, over-reaching, or other ulterior form of constraint or coercion; andshould have sufficient knowledge and comprehension of the elements of the subject matterinvolved, as to enable him to make an understanding and enlightened decision. This latterelement requires that, before the acceptance of an affirmative decision by the experimentalsubject, there should be made known to him the nature, duration, and purpose of the experiment;the method and means by which it is to be conducted; all inconveniences and hazards reasonablyto be expected; and the effects upon his health or person, which may possibly come from hisparticipation in the experiment.The duty and responsibility for ascertaining the quality of the consent rests upon eachindividual who initiates, directs or engages in the experiment. It is a personal duty andresponsibility which may not be delegated to another with impunity.2. The experiment should be such as to yield fruitful results for the good of society,unprocurable by other methods or means of study, and not random and unnecessary in nature.3. The experiment should be so designed and based on the results of animal experimentationand a knowledge of the natural history of the disease or other problem under study, that theanticipated results will justify the performance of the experiment.4. The experiment should be so conducted as to avoid all unnecessary physical and mentalsuffering and injury.5. No experiment should be conducted, where there is an a priori reason to believe thatdeath or disabling injury will occur; except, perhaps, in those experiments where theexperimental physicians also serve as subjects.6. The degree of risk to be taken should never exceed that determined by the humanitarianimportance of the problem to be solved by the experiment.7. Proper preparations should be made and adequate facilities provided to protect theexperimental subject against even remote possibilities of injury, disability, or death.8. The experiment should be conducted only by scientifically qualified persons. The highestdegree of skill and care should be required through all stages of the experiment of those whoconduct or engage in the experiment.9. During the course of the experiment, the human subject should be at liberty to bring theexperiment to an end, if he has reached the physical or mental state, where continuation of theexperiment seemed to him to be impossible.10. During the course of the experiment, the scientist in charge must be prepared to terminatethe experiment at any stage, if he has probable cause to believe, in the exercise of the good faith,superior skill and careful judgement required of him, that a continuation of the experiment islikely to result in injury, disability, or death to the experimental subject.["Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals under Control Council LawNo. 10", Vol. 2, pp. 18