What is the purpose of the professional code of ethics?

Answer 1

Many professions are regulated by statute, but due to the nature of the professions, statutes alone are not sufficient to guarantee proper conduct. That's where Codes of Conduct come in. Such codes encourage behavior which enable discharge of professional duties in situations where such behavior is not required (or prohibited) by law, but none the less is necessary for the functioning of the professional. For instance, judges are prohibited from behaving in a manner which reflects badly on the judiciary as a whole, but isn't illegal. A judge who is intemperate in behavior or speech may violate a code of judicial conduct and be subject to a reprimand or removal from the bench, or a member of the police service may violate a code of conduct by being uncivil or belligerent in his or her interactions with the public.

Violations of codes of conduct are generally intended to maintain public confidence in the profession; a statute may prohibit a conflict of interest, but a code of conduct may prohibit the appearance of the conflict even if there's isn't one. In addition, codes of conduct serve to prohibit behavior which would be nearly impossible to prove in a court of law, say if a judge socialized with parties appearing before that judge in court. It is possible that nothing unethical occurred during that social interaction, but one would never be able to be sure, so the code of conduct prohibits such behavior in order to eliminate even the possibility of something unethical occurring.

Many professions also have ethical strictures by which members abide, yet lack an official "code of conduct". The most important difference is that the presence of an official code of conduct usually indicates that punishment for violation of the code is administered by members of the profession itself and can be harsh, even resulting in the exclusion of the violator from the profession entirely. Attorneys can be disbarred or judges can be removed from the bench if a violation of their code is egregious enough.

Answer 2

It is not necessarily to be assumed that a professional code of ethics has only one purpose. For example, a professional code of ethics may be formulated to guide members of the profession in order to obey some law or fulfill a legal requirement. Alternatively, it may be formulated to help ensure that members of the profession treat their clients ethically. Alternatively, it may be formulated to help ensure that members of the profession make more money.

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