Code of ethics
Focus on public service
2.0 Museums belong to everybody. They exist to serve the public. They should enhance the quality of life of everyone, both today and in the future. They are funded because of their positive social, cultural, educational and economic impact.
All those who work for or govern museums should ensure that they:
2.1 Recognise the public purpose of museums. Put the public interest before other interests.
2.2 Uphold the highest standards of personal conduct and corporate integrity expected in public service.
2.3 Account for actions and decisions, be willing to justify them and take responsibility for the consequences that flow from them.
2.4 Uphold, promote and abide by the Museums Association’s ethical standards both in the letter and the spirit of this Code of Ethics for Museums. Never require or suggest that anyone should act in conflict with the principles of the Code.
2.5 Keep up to date with and work towards achieving other widely accepted standards, such as the Museums Association’s Ethical Guidelines, the Registration Scheme for museums in the UK and successor schemes. Respect the ethical codes of others where consistent with this one.
2.6 Avoid any private activity or pursuit of a personal interest that may conflict or be perceived to conflict with the public interest.
2.7 Declare to the governing body and have recorded by it any activity or pursuit of any interest that may conflict or be perceived to conflict with the public interest.
2.8 Understand legal responsibilities as members of staff or governing bodies and make all policy and practice at the museum comply with the law. Understand that personal liabilities may follow from insolvency or wrongful or fraudulent trading and from breaches of company, charity or trust law.
2.9 Adhere to the museum’s constitution, which should establish its purpose and legal status and the role and composition of the governing body. Regard the constitution as a public document.
Require each individual member of the museum’s governing body to assume equal responsibility for adherence to the museum’s constitution, approved procedures and codes of practice.
Note that absence from a meeting of the governing body does not necessarily absolve an individual member from any liability for a decision taken at that meeting, should there be any question of breach of trust or statutory default.
2.10 Do not allow the chair or any individual member of a governing body to take on autonomous powers for decisions and actions unless formally delegated to do so and then only on the basis that the actions of the individual are fully and promptly reported back to the governing body, as required by the rules of the governing body.
2.11 Consider the effect of activities conducted in private life on the reputation of the museum and of museums generally.
2.12 Observe recognised public service standards regarding gifts or favours. Refuse to solicit from any person or body, and turn down if coffered, any personal gift or favour that might subsequently be interpreted as an inducement to promote or trade with that person or body.
Declare any offer of a personal gift or favour and consult at an appropriate level of authority in advance of acting. Record the decision whether or not a gift or favour is accepted. Record gifts or favours accepted by individuals in accordance with well-defined, publicly transparent procedures.
2.13 Refuse to draw on status or position at the museum, or the museum’s resources, for personal gain or advancement without prior permission. Have in place policy and procedures so that private work undertaken by employees is approved in advance and does not conflict with the museum’s interest or wider public interest.
Consider the current needs of the museum in deciding the proportion of any fees that may be retained by employees engaged in private work.
2.14 Refuse to identify, authenticate or value items in private ownership for personal payment, gifts or favours.
2.15 Avoid all activities that could be construed as trading or dealing in cultural property unless authorised in advance by the governing body.
Refuse to deal in any material covered by the museum’s acquisition policy, to engage in private collecting in competition with the museum or to use a connection with the museum to promote private collecting.
Refuse to acquire any items from collections that the museum has disposed of.
2.16 Declare to the museum, and have approved by its governing body, any significant private collecting that may be covered by the museum’s acquisition policy. Apply, in any private collecting, the same ethical standards as museums adopt generally, refusing, for example, to acquire illicit material.
Collect for private purposes on collecting or field trips only with explicit prior agreement from the museum and if the collecting is incidental and the time involved is reasonable. Make clear to all parties whether an item is being collected for a museum or a private collection.
2.17 Avoid being seen as representing the museum if speaking personally or on behalf of outside organisations whose practices and purposes conflict with that of the museum.
2.18 Recognise that it is legitimate for people who work in museums to present evidence based on their knowledge and experience of subjects that are a matter of public concern or controversy.
Obtain authorisation before making statements on sensitive issues that affect the museum. Base any public comments as far as possible on sound scholarship and reliable information.
All those who work for or govern museums should ensure that they:
2.1 Recognise the public purpose of museums. Put the public interest before other interests.
2.2 Uphold the highest standards of personal conduct and corporate integrity expected in public service.
2.3 Account for actions and decisions, be willing to justify them and take responsibility for the consequences that flow from them.
2.4 Uphold, promote and abide by the Museums Association’s ethical standards both in the letter and the spirit of this Code of Ethics for Museums. Never require or suggest that anyone should act in conflict with the principles of the Code.
2.5 Keep up to date with and work towards achieving other widely accepted standards, such as the Museums Association’s Ethical Guidelines, the Registration Scheme for museums in the UK and successor schemes. Respect the ethical codes of others where consistent with this one.
2.6 Avoid any private activity or pursuit of a personal interest that may conflict or be perceived to conflict with the public interest.
2.7 Declare to the governing body and have recorded by it any activity or pursuit of any interest that may conflict or be perceived to conflict with the public interest.
2.8 Understand legal responsibilities as members of staff or governing bodies and make all policy and practice at the museum comply with the law. Understand that personal liabilities may follow from insolvency or wrongful or fraudulent trading and from breaches of company, charity or trust law.
2.9 Adhere to the museum’s constitution, which should establish its purpose and legal status and the role and composition of the governing body. Regard the constitution as a public document.
Require each individual member of the museum’s governing body to assume equal responsibility for adherence to the museum’s constitution, approved procedures and codes of practice.
Note that absence from a meeting of the governing body does not necessarily absolve an individual member from any liability for a decision taken at that meeting, should there be any question of breach of trust or statutory default.
2.10 Do not allow the chair or any individual member of a governing body to take on autonomous powers for decisions and actions unless formally delegated to do so and then only on the basis that the actions of the individual are fully and promptly reported back to the governing body, as required by the rules of the governing body.
2.11 Consider the effect of activities conducted in private life on the reputation of the museum and of museums generally.
2.12 Observe recognised public service standards regarding gifts or favours. Refuse to solicit from any person or body, and turn down if coffered, any personal gift or favour that might subsequently be interpreted as an inducement to promote or trade with that person or body.
Declare any offer of a personal gift or favour and consult at an appropriate level of authority in advance of acting. Record the decision whether or not a gift or favour is accepted. Record gifts or favours accepted by individuals in accordance with well-defined, publicly transparent procedures.
2.13 Refuse to draw on status or position at the museum, or the museum’s resources, for personal gain or advancement without prior permission. Have in place policy and procedures so that private work undertaken by employees is approved in advance and does not conflict with the museum’s interest or wider public interest.
Consider the current needs of the museum in deciding the proportion of any fees that may be retained by employees engaged in private work.
2.14 Refuse to identify, authenticate or value items in private ownership for personal payment, gifts or favours.
2.15 Avoid all activities that could be construed as trading or dealing in cultural property unless authorised in advance by the governing body.
Refuse to deal in any material covered by the museum’s acquisition policy, to engage in private collecting in competition with the museum or to use a connection with the museum to promote private collecting.
Refuse to acquire any items from collections that the museum has disposed of.
2.16 Declare to the museum, and have approved by its governing body, any significant private collecting that may be covered by the museum’s acquisition policy. Apply, in any private collecting, the same ethical standards as museums adopt generally, refusing, for example, to acquire illicit material.
Collect for private purposes on collecting or field trips only with explicit prior agreement from the museum and if the collecting is incidental and the time involved is reasonable. Make clear to all parties whether an item is being collected for a museum or a private collection.
2.17 Avoid being seen as representing the museum if speaking personally or on behalf of outside organisations whose practices and purposes conflict with that of the museum.
2.18 Recognise that it is legitimate for people who work in museums to present evidence based on their knowledge and experience of subjects that are a matter of public concern or controversy.
Obtain authorisation before making statements on sensitive issues that affect the museum. Base any public comments as far as possible on sound scholarship and reliable information.
Click links below for Q&As relating to this section of the code
Adoption of code
Gifts to Individuals
Personal conduct
Private work
Trustees
Upholding the code
Adoption of code
Gifts to Individuals
Personal conduct
Private work
Trustees
Upholding the code
