[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › [Medical ethics](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/) › [Research ethics](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/areas/research/) › The Nuremberg Code (1947) # The Nuremberg Code (1947) - International document Ten rules for experiments on human beings, written by the judges who convicted the Nazi doctors; the first is voluntary consent. Updated Nov 5, 2026 ## Key points - Principle 1: the voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential. - It comes from the verdict of the Nuremberg Doctors' Trial (1946–1947). - It requires prior animal experiments and knowledge of the natural history of the disease. - The person may leave the experiment at any time. - It is not binding law: it is the moral basis of Helsinki, Belmont and CIOMS. ## What it is The Nuremberg Code is a list of ten principles for experiments on human beings. The judges of the so-called Doctors' Trial included it in their verdict of August 1947, after trying Nazi doctors and officials for cruel experiments on concentration-camp prisoners. It was the first international document to make the participant's voluntary consent an absolute condition. It is not the law of any country, but it inspired the Declaration of Helsinki and every later rule, including Resolution 8430 of 1993 in Colombia. ## Key points - 1. Voluntary consent, with legal capacity, free of coercion and with enough information. - 2. The experiment must aim at results useful to society that cannot be obtained by other means. - 3. It must rest on prior animal experiments and on knowledge of the disease. - 4. It must avoid all unnecessary physical and mental suffering and injury. - 5. It is not done if there is reason to expect death or disabling injury (except, perhaps, when the investigating doctors are themselves subjects). - 6. The risk must never exceed the humanitarian importance of the problem. - 7. Facilities and precautions are prepared against injury, disability or death, even if unlikely. - 8. Only scientifically qualified people conduct it. - 9. The participant may end their participation whenever they wish. - 10. The investigator must stop the experiment if continuing would probably cause serious harm. ## Historical context - The Doctors' Trial was a US military tribunal in Nuremberg, from December 1946 to August 1947, with 23 defendants. - The experiments on trial included freezing, low pressure, induced infections and forced sterilization of prisoners. - The defendants argued that there were no international rules on experimentation; the judges answered by writing the ten points. ## Today - Written consent and the right to withdraw, present in every current protocol, come from points 1 and 9. - The code did not foresee people who cannot consent (children, people without capacity); Helsinki and CIOMS filled the gap with the legal representative and assent. - Resolution 8430 of 1993 takes up its ideas: prior animal experiments (art. 6) and immediate suspension when there is risk (art. 12). ## Revisions and official text - The ten-point text has not been changed: it is a historical document, not a rule that is updated. - Its practical successor is the World Medical Association's Declaration of Helsinki (1964, last revised 2024). ## Memory aid «Nuremberg starts with yes»: point 1 (consent) and point 9 (leave whenever you wish) frame the other eight. ## Test yourself Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it. ## What is the first principle of the Nuremberg Code? The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential: legal capacity, freedom from coercion and enough information to decide. ## Which trial did the Nuremberg Code come from? The verdict of the Doctors' Trial (1946–1947), in which Nazi doctors and officials were tried for experiments on prisoners. ## Which group of people did the Nuremberg Code not consider, and how was this solved later? People who cannot consent, such as children or adults without capacity. Helsinki and CIOMS added consent by a legal representative and the participant's assent. ## Is the Nuremberg Code binding law? No. No country adopted it as law; it is the moral basis on which Helsinki, Belmont, CIOMS and national rules were built. [Add to my cards (4)](https://durgical.app/estudiar/?add=/en/medical-ethics/the-nuremberg-code/) ## Connections ## Related 4 - [Research abuses that changed the rules: Tuskegee, Willowbrook, Guatemala](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/research-abuses-that-changed-the-rules-tuskegee-willowbrook-guatemala/) - [The Declaration of Helsinki](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/the-declaration-of-helsinki/) - [Informed consent in research](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/informed-consent-in-research/) - [Informed consent: elements and how to obtain it](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/informed-consent-elements-and-how-to-obtain-it/) [← All of medical ethics](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/) Educational content on ethics and health law; not legal advice. Laws and case law change: each page links the official text and says when it was last checked. For a real case, read the text in force and ask a lawyer or the medical ethics tribunal. Sources: [The Nuremberg Code: Directives for Human Experimentation](https://ori.hhs.gov/content/chapter-3-The-Protection-of-Human-Subjects-nuremberg-code-directives-human-experimentation) (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Research Integrity, 1947); [WMA Declaration of Helsinki – Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Participants](https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki/) (World Medical Association, 2024). ## **Spotted a mistake?** We are always improving for the community. Tell us what is wrong and our team will review it. Report a mistake Representative model, for educational purposes only. --- Source: https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/the-nuremberg-code/ License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/the-nuremberg-code/