Research ethics

All persons conducting research in the Faculty of Law should consult the Faculty Research Ethics Policy. General queries about the policy should be directed, in the first instance, to lawresearch@law.cam.ac.uk.

The Faculty’s ethical review process involves up to three stages:

1. self-assessment by the researcher, which might lead to:

2. review by the Director of Research, who may refer an application to:

3. the Faculty’s Research Ethics Committee and, which may refer it to the School Research Ethics Committee.

If, after self-assessment, current researchers or Faculty members feel that further guidance or approval is needed, they can contact the Director of Research and/or lawresearch@law.cam.ac.uk to begin the second stage of the process above.

Tripos, LLM and PhD students should consult their supervisor for guidance on ethics issues arising through the planning of dissertations or theses, in addition to the information available in the relevant student pages. If a student and their supervisor feel that self-assessment is not sufficient for the kind of research which will be undertaken, please contact lawresearch@law.cam.ac.uk to discuss. If necessary, the second stage of approval will be sought via the Director of Research.

Research ethics are a constant priority and matter of discussion - researchers are encouraged to reach out to colleagues, the Faculty's Grant Administrator and the Director of Research at any time to discuss ethics when planning research.