Code of Ethics

Article 1

The preamble

1. Code of ethics (the "code") sets out the basic principles of ethical conduct at work and study at the University of Economics in Bratislava (hereinafter referred to as the "UE in Bratislava").
2. The code applies to all employees and students of the UE in Bratislava.
3. The Code reflects the interest of the staff and students of the UE in Bratislava to promote human values and decent academic environment and to follow ethical values and the requirements of this code.

Article 2

Academic freedoms and academic rights

1. The UE in Bratislava guarantees the academic freedoms and rights:
   1. the freedom of scientific work and research,
   2. the freedom to choose the subject, methods and procedures in the scientific activities,
   3. the freedom to publicize the results of scientific work and research,
   4. the freedom of teaching, in particular in terms of openness to the various scientific opinions, scientific and research methods,
   5. the right to free expression and publicizing one’s ideas (hereinafter only "academic freedoms").

2. The use of academic freedoms must be in accordance with the principles of democracy, humanity and the legal system of the Slovak Republic.
3. The staff and students of the UE in Bratislava declare these values:
   • autonomy, moral and scientific independence from politics and respect for academic freedoms,
   • inseparability of the education from science and research,
   • critical thinking,
   • rejection of intolerance and the promotion of dialogue,
   • traditions and the values of democracy and the European humanism,
   • promotion of interaction between cultures,
   • equal opportunities.

Article 3

General principles of ethical conduct for employees and students

1. The staff and students of the UE in Bratislava declare these values:
   1. their behavior and decisions are based on the principle of respect for humanity, human dignity, ethical right, fairness and responsibility,
   2. in their work and in the study they follow fundamental ethical principles and rules,
   3. they require and comply with the principles of this code from their colleagues or classmates,
   4. they are aware that ethics is important for the quality of their work and study, and it is a guarantee of a correct academic conduct, a part of the University culture and the strengthening of reputation,
   5. their relationships between them are based on mutual respect and tolerance, they respect their rights, obligations and opinions, political affiliation and religious beliefs (as long as they do not restrict the rights of others), they do not tolerate discrimination (in relation to age, race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, etc.),
   6. they respect academic rights and academic freedoms on the campus and keep an apolitical approach,
   7. they do not defend and do not cover the behavior which is contrary to the principles set out in this code of conduct, nor by suggesting the necessary obedience or loyalty,
   8. they do not admit a conflict of interest arising from their status at the UE in Bratislava and with their related activities, and their private interests,
   9. they demonstrate a high degree of fellowship towards the UE in Bratislava and they are actively involved in the University life,
   10. they protect the interests of the UE in Bratislava and act on its behalf, they are tolerant, caring, polite,
   11. they dedicate the time to activities at the UE in Bratislava in a full working and personal commitment,
   12. they support development of environmentally friendly behavior and the business climate in the working environment,
   13. they respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of all other staff and students regardless of their occupational and functional classification, they defend the freedom of thought, of expression, of the exchange of views and information,
   14. they are aware of the responsibility for their work, they are open to a variety of scientific views, they approach their duties honestly and responsibly, and they follow institutional regulations,
   15. they consider teaching and scientific work, and any other creative work for an integral contribution to the development of human knowledge, culture, innovation and the common good and defend it against unfair doubts or abuse, they shall protect the results obtained at the UE in Bratislava against misuse, and shall not disclose them to third parties without the due protection of intellectual property rights, as well as the substantive rights,
   16. they refuse unethical practices, signs of plagiarism in science
   17. they support the anti-corruptive behavior, and shall not take from the other persons material or other benefits in connection with the performance of their work; they shall reject donations from students, their parents or other persons, they refuse interventions in favor of the student,
   18. they responsibly represent the UE in Bratislava, they care for the reputation of the UE in Bratislava, in particular by the fact that they do not abuse it for their own personal benefit,
   19. they refuse to cause harm to another colleague or to another department, dissemination of fake information, defamation, abuse, and other unethical forms of bullying in the workplace,
   20. they refrain from any form of sexual harassment of other students or colleagues,
   21. they do not abuse the entrusted spiritual, material and financial resources for the purposes of their own enrichment or to harm the public interest and the interest of the
       UE in Bratislava, they keep a responsible approach to the effective spending of funds from the public and other sources,
   22. If they have an official access to the confidential information, the information shall be provided only in accordance with the law and organizational standards of the UE in Bratislava,
   23. they respectfully use the property of the UE in Bratislava and protect it from unauthorized use or damage, with information and communication technologies they refrain from using illegal software and follow the rules for working at the University in the computer network, the research infrastructure is not used for any purpose other than the creative activity carried out within the framework of the employment relationship with UE in Bratislava, they promote responsible behavior- based on the economical management of available equipment and University facilities, energy saving and recycling of waste,
   24. they have a careful and responsible approach towards the environment and support sustainable development in Bratislava, in the limelight of the environmental dimension of each of their activities, ensuring environmental sustainability and coherence of all University activities with the need to protect public funds and resources.

Article 4

The principles of ethical behavior in an educational and scientific research activities

1. An employee of the UE in Bratislava (depending on the work category):
   1. tries to create fair relations among colleagues, he/she does not mock colleagues before the students and does not state his/her opinion to the educational methods, nor does he/she apply a false attitude of cooperativeness,
   2. When dealing with professional and scientific grant tasks, he/she demonstrates a willingness to consult and cooperate,
   3. he/she is against unethical and improper use of scientific knowledge,
   4. he/she maintains an objective attitude towards his/her own knowledge and results, as well as to the results of other colleagues, he/she is open to discussions and arguments,
   5. he/she refuses to use scientific approaches, racist, nationalist and ideological points of view, he/she properly uses a political and religious viewpoint in his teaching, scientific and other creative work, 
   6. he/she treats the students based on an objective, fair and demanding assessment of their skills, knowledge, effort and other personal characteristics, in order to maintain their dignity,
   7. in the classification of the learning outcomes he/she acts impartially and objectively,
   8. he/she communicates with the students in a proper way. He/she shall not humiliate, nor profane the students,
   9. he/she shall not requires from students activities that belong to its own obligations and does not put unreasonable demands on them,
   10. he passes the students on his/her knowledge, skills and experiences, and conscientiously complies with the rules for the organization of teaching,
   11. he/she develops an independent, critical thinking among his/her students and responsible approach to work, respecting their right to free expression of views,
   12. he/she focuses their work on expanding the human knowledge, the development of values and knowledge,
   13. in the acquisition, selection and evaluation of the data he/she focuses on the General principles (article 3), while respecting the specificities of the particular field of study,
   14. employee-researcher- carries out scientific, research and development activities as a means of increasing the level of knowledge of the society as a whole and as a means of active self-education, which leads to improved quality of students taught and young researchers; in the performance of scientific, research and development activities he/she shall be governed mainly by the European code of conduct in order to preserve the integrity of scientific research,
   15. by the dissemination of knowledge and research results or scientific research operations he/she shall be responsible for their validity and objectivity, he/she makes sure that the research was original, objective, and acknowledges the contribution of the others, he/she always uses quotes and refers to the relevant sources fairly and accurately,
   16. he/she prepares reports, reviews or other assessments personally, is not subject to external pressure, closely follows the instructions in good conscience and his own judgement based on their own expertise, sets the prerequisites for an objective conduct of peer review,
   17. he/she respects and protects the intellectual property of the authors of the manuscripts, proposals or reports, respects the confidentiality of the information related to his/her expert activity, as an evaluator he/she does not deliberately extend the review proceedings for the purpose of achieving their own advantages or benefits to third parties,
   18. he/she does not publish by ethically dubious manner and does not use ethically dubious publishing platforms,
   19. he/she is responsible for the entire research, and in particular, for its quality and reliability, he/she is responsible for the selection of appropriate working procedures and methods;
   20. he/she actively cooperates on the popularization of science and research, he/she makes the results of its research activity available to the public, on the level of and under conditions which are obvious for the field in which he/she operates.

Article 5

Principles of ethical conduct for students

1. UE students in Bratislava:
   1. have the right to their own opinion, which does not restrict the dignity and humanity, the right to honor, respect and fair dialogue by the staff of UE in Bratislava, as well as by the other members of the student community,
   2. maintains the decency, reverence and respect for the opinion of the employees of the UE and other members of the student community,
   3. actively acts against all manifestations of extremism, racism, discrimination, religious intolerance, xenophobia, sexual orientation, social intolerance, and rejects anything that may offend human dignity,
   4. are responsible for their actions on the campus and in the public for his performance and the results of the study, the behavior towards the staff of the UE in relation to the UE property in Bratislava,
   5. act excellently in the public and do not profane the reputation of UE employees
      in Bratislava and the members of the student community, do not behave in contradiction with the accepted principles of ethics,
   6. encourage student integrity, stand out against unethical practices,
   7. refrain from unethical behavior, incorrect approach in the study and practices which degrade the academic environment, study and good relationships between staff and students, they abstain from plagiarism, fraud, bribery or attempted teacher bribery, manipulation and falsification of information in order to obtain benefits,
   8. disseminate new scientific knowledge and requires them,
   9. they take part in the educational process, as well as the tests, in appropriate and clean clothing

Article 6

The Ethics Committee

1. To review and discuss the cases of violations of this code of conduct the Ethics Committee of the UE in Bratislava has been established (hereinafter referred to as "Ethics Committee").
2. The Ethics Committee is an independent and expert consultative body to the Rector of the UE in Bratislava. The composition of the Ethics Committee, as well as the procedure for its activities is set by the rules of procedure of the Ethics Committee of the UE in Bratislava, which is annexed to this code.
3. The complaint for breaching the principles of this code may be submitted by employees and students of the UE in Bratislava (hereinafter referred to as ' the notifier ') directly to the UE Rector in Bratislava in written form. The complaint on a breach of the principles needs to be addressed in details, i.e. it must contain the name of the person who violated the ethical principles, the description of ethical principles violation, as well as the name of the notifier. The complaint must be signed by the notifier specifying whether the notifier wishes to remain anonymous. The Institute of anonymity must be respected. Anonymous complaints will not be taken into account in the infringement of the principles of this code.

Article 7

Final provisions

1. This code of ethics for Economic University in Bratislava was discussed in the Rector College of the UE in Bratislava, Slovakia on the 21st of March 2018.
2. This code of ethics for Economic University in Bratislava was approved by the Academic Senate of the UE in Bratislava, Slovakia on the 12th of April 2018.
3. This code of ethics for the University of Economics in Bratislava was approved by the Academic Senate of the UE in Bratislava, Slovakia on the 12th of April 2018.
4. By entering into force of this code of ethics the effectiveness of the Internal Directive No. 9/2014 code of ethics of the scientific research activities of university lecturers and researchers of the University of Economics in Bratislava shall be terminated.
   1. 12. 2014

Rules of procedure of the Ethics Committee of the University of Economics in Bratislava

(annex to the ethics code of the University of Economics in Bratislava, Slovakia)

Article 1

Basic provisions 

1. The rules of procedure of the Ethics Committee of the University of Economics in Bratislava (hereinafter referred to as "the rules of procedure of the Ethics Committee") provides details of the composition and the way of the Ethics Committee deliberations.
2. The Ethics Committee reviews possible violations of the ethics code of the University of Economics in Bratislava (hereinafter referred to as "the code").
3. The Ethics Committee is autonomous in its position and negotiating.
4. The Ethics Committee may propose improvements of the code content to the UE Rector in Bratislava.
5. Once a year the Ethics Committee delivers a report on the activities of the UE to the Rector.
6. The activities of the Committee is not legally binding, and should be understood as an activity that contributes to clarifying the situation, so as to prevent from unethical behavior.

Article 2

The composition of the Ethics Committee

1. The Ethics Committee has 9 members.
2. Proposals to members of the Ethics Committee shall be submitted to the UE Rector in Bratislava.
3. Members of the Ethics Committee shall be appointed and recalled by the Rector of the UE in Bratislava.
4. Each faculty proposes one member of the Ethics Committee from the teaching staff, a member of the Ethics Committee from the non-educational staff proposes the Basic organization of the Trade Union of employees in education and science
   at the UE in Bratislava and one member of the Ethics Committee from students proposed by the student part of the academic senate of the UE in Bratislava.
5. Members of the Ethics Committee at its first session will elect the Chairman of the Ethics Committee.
6. The membership in the Ethics Committee is incompatible with the function of the UE Rector in Bratislava and the Dean of the Faculty secretary and the chief financial officer.
7. The term of office for the Ethics Committee is 3 years from the date referred to in the appointment decree.
8. The membership of the Ethics Committee ends after the date of the term of office has passed, by a written notice,recalling a member by the Rector of UE in Bratislava, due to a conviction for a deliberate criminal offense, through the termination of the employment relationship, by the end of the study, or by death.
9. A condition of membership in the Ethics Committee is:
   
   1. the written consent of the person proposed for the appointment for a member of the Ethics Committee,
   2. a written consent to publicize the name, surname, place of employment, and information about the membership in the Ethics Committee,
   3. a written commitment of confidentiality about all matters of a confidential nature relating to the membership of the Ethics Commission, or to the work of staff providing administrative agenda of the Ethics Committee, or the work of a professional advisor, as a guest in the Ethics Committee procedure,
   4. a written commitment to notify the Rector about all the facts which might lead to a conflict of interests in relation to the membership of the Ethics Committee, or in a relation to a particular case processed by the Ethics Committee of the UE in Bratislava.
10. The Administrative agenda of the Ethics Committee is provided by the employee of the UE rectorate in Bratislava, appointed by the UE Rector in Bratislava.
11. The provision of the Ethics Committee agenda and the expert advisers invited to negotiate in the Ethics Committee under article 3 (3) shall be subject to the provisions of point 9 c) of this article.

Article 3

The way of the work of the Ethics Committee

1. The Ethics Committee shall meet as needed, but at least once in a calendar year.
2. The meeting shall be convened and managed by the chairman of the Ethics Committee.
3. The parties concerned or even expert advisors are invited to the negotiations of the Ethics Committee.
4. The Ethics Committee deals with submissions and suggestions of staff and students
   of the UE in Bratislava which are related to the code violation.
5. If the initiative for the infringement of the code principles will have the nature of a complaint, the internal directive, number 7/2015 the principles of administration, verification and documentation of complaints lodged under the Act No. 307/2014 Coll. on certain measures related to the reporting of anti-social activities activities and on amendments to certain laws shall be applied. Such an initiative shall not be negotiated by the Ethics Committee.
6. The infringement of the principles of this code, in terms of UE students in Bratislava is under the competency of the Ethics Committee, unless the code violation is regarded as a disciplinary offence, which is within the competency of the disciplinary board of the respective Faculty of the UE in Bratislava.
7. Each incentive for a breach of the principles of this code is recorded in the book of complaints, which is deposited in the Secretariat of the Rector of the UE in Bratislava.
8. The Rector of the UE in Bratislava shall forward the submissions to the chairman of the Ethics Committee within 7 days from the date of the delivery.
9. The Ethics Committee shall assess the submissions not later than one month from the date of the delivery to the Chairman of the Ethics Committee and makes decision of whether it will continue to deal with them or not.
10. Staff providing administrative agenda of the Ethics Commission shall draft a record of the Ethics Commission's meeting.
11. The Ethics Committee reports on its activities to the UE rector in Bratislava once a year to January 31 of the current calendar year for the previous calendar year.
12. An Ethics Committee has a quorum, if at least seven members are present. The decision, and the opinions of the Ethics Committee shall be approved by two thirds majority of the present members of the Ethics Committee.
13. The negotiations of Ethics Committee is non-public.
14. Negotiations, the material discussed and the records of the Ethics Commission are confidential.
15. The Ethics Commission will consider the complaint with the assessment of non-violation, slight violation or violation of the code.
16. The Chairman of the Ethics Committee shall inform the data subject of the outcome of the negotiations within two weeks of the negotiation of the complaint.
17. The Ethics Committee denies discussions on complaints that are vulgar, unaddressed and ideological, offend the dignity of a person or discredit the UE in Bratislava and its entities.
18. The Ethics Committee may require persons who have breached the code of conduct, to publicly or personally apologize in the presence of at least one member of the Ethics Committee. This Act will be recorded as an expression of misconduct, a form of reconciliation, as well as a willingness to address the problem in ethical way. This Act shall be listed in the registry of the Ethics Committee, as well as in the annual report of the Ethics Committee.

Article 4

Final provisions

1. The complaint against a member of the Ethics Committee the Rector of the UE Bratislava appoints on the Commission's proposal a replacement member of the Ethics Committee, whose employee is a member of the Ethics Committee concerned, or on a proposal of the UE OZPŠaV in Bratislava, or on a proposal from the student section of the academic senate of the UE in Bratislava.
2. If there is a complaint towards the President of the Ethics Committee, at the time of the procedure the Rector of the UE in Bratislava appoints
   another chairman of the Ethics Committee and other Ethics Committee members on the proposal of the faculty, whose employee is the chairman of the Ethics Committee concerned, or on a proposal from OZPŠaV at the UE Bratislava, or on a proposal by the student section of the academic senate of the UE in Bratislava.

List of members of the ethics committee

Chairman

doc. Ing. Mgr. Gabriela Dubcová, PhD. - FPM

Members

1. prof. Ing. Pavol Ochotnický, CSc. - NHF
2. doc. Ing. Zuzana Francová, PhD. - OF
3. doc. Ing. Marian Reiff, PhD. - FHI
4. doc. Ing. Eva Jančíková, PhD. - FMV
5. PhDr. Roman Kvapil, PhD. - FAJ
6. doc. PhDr. Ing. Robert Verner, PhD., MBA - PHF
7. doc. Ing. Mgr. Zuzana Joniaková, PhD. - Rada ZO OZ PŠaV
8. Bc. Radovan Kopál - ŠP EU

Contact: eticka.komisia@euba.sk