Code Exception Clause Activation — Section II.1.c. Public Safety Exception
P · Principle
Individual
http://proethica.org/ontology/case/136#Code_Exception_Clause_Activation_—_Section_II.1.c._Public_Safety_Exception
Properties
Instance of
CodeExceptionClauseActivationforPublicSafetyDisclosure
http://proethica.org/ontology/intermediate#CodeExceptionClauseActivationforPublicSafetyDisclosure
Applied to
Engineer A's authority and obligation to disclose imminent structural danger to tenants and public authorities despite general confidentiality obligation
Balancing with
Confidentiality Principle
Concrete expression
The Board identifies and activates Section II.1.c.'s explicit exception to the general confidentiality obligation — which permits disclosure 'in cases authorized by the Code or required by law' — concluding that imminent public health and safety endangerment triggers this exception and transforms the permission to disclose into an ethical responsibility to disclose.
Confidence
0.93
Importance
high
Interpretation
The ethics code's exception clause in Section II.1.c. is not merely a permission but, when activated by imminent public danger, generates an affirmative ethical responsibility to disclose; engineers must recognize and activate these exception clauses rather than treating the general confidentiality rule as absolute.
Invoked by
Board of Ethical Review
Tension resolution
The Section II.1.c. exception clause is activated by the imminent structural danger, transforming the general confidentiality obligation into an affirmative disclosure obligation; the exception clause is the mechanism by which the code resolves the tension between confidentiality and public safety.
Source Evidence
Source text
Section II.1.c. makes a clear exception concerning the obligation of engineers not to reveal facts obtained in a professional capacity without the client's consent. That exception allows the disclosure of such information in cases authorized by the Code or required by law. We believe that in cases where the public health and safety is endangered, engineers not only have the right but also the ethical responsibility to reveal such facts to the proper persons.
Text references
Section II.1.c. makes a clear exception concerning the obligation of engineers not to reveal facts obtained in a professional capacity without the client's consent.
That exception allows the disclosure of such information in cases authorized by the Code or required by law.
We also believe that state board rules of professional conduct might require such action by professional engineers.
We believe that in cases where the public health and safety is endangered, engineers not only have the right but also the ethical responsibility to reveal such facts to the proper persons.
TTL
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<http://proethica.org/ontology/case/136#Code_Exception_Clause_Activation_—_Section_II.1.c._Public_Safety_Exception> a proeth:CodeExceptionClauseActivationforPublicSafetyDisclosure,
owl:NamedIndividual ;
rdfs:label "Code Exception Clause Activation — Section II.1.c. Public Safety Exception" ;
proeth:appliedto "Engineer A's authority and obligation to disclose imminent structural danger to tenants and public authorities despite general confidentiality obligation" ;
proeth:balancingwith "Confidentiality Principle" ;
proeth:conceptCategory "Principle" ;
proeth:concreteexpression "The Board identifies and activates Section II.1.c.'s explicit exception to the general confidentiality obligation — which permits disclosure 'in cases authorized by the Code or required by law' — concluding that imminent public health and safety endangerment triggers this exception and transforms the permission to disclose into an ethical responsibility to disclose." ;
proeth:confidence "0.93" ;
proeth:discoveredincase "136" ;
proeth:discoveredinpass "2" ;
proeth:discoveredinsection "discussion" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredat "2026-03-01T13:03:31.215609+00:00" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredincase "136" ;
proeth:generatedattime "2026-03-01T13:03:31.215609+00:00" ;
proeth:importance "high" ;
proeth:interpretation "The ethics code's exception clause in Section II.1.c. is not merely a permission but, when activated by imminent public danger, generates an affirmative ethical responsibility to disclose; engineers must recognize and activate these exception clauses rather than treating the general confidentiality rule as absolute." ;
proeth:invokedby "Board of Ethical Review" ;
proeth:principleclass "Code Exception Clause Activation for Public Safety Disclosure" ;
proeth:sourcetext "Section II.1.c. makes a clear exception concerning the obligation of engineers not to reveal facts obtained in a professional capacity without the client's consent. That exception allows the disclosure of such information in cases authorized by the Code or required by law. We believe that in cases where the public health and safety is endangered, engineers not only have the right but also the ethical responsibility to reveal such facts to the proper persons." ;
proeth:tensionresolution "The Section II.1.c. exception clause is activated by the imminent structural danger, transforming the general confidentiality obligation into an affirmative disclosure obligation; the exception clause is the mechanism by which the code resolves the tension between confidentiality and public safety." ;
proeth:textreferences "Section II.1.c. makes a clear exception concerning the obligation of engineers not to reveal facts obtained in a professional capacity without the client's consent.",
"That exception allows the disclosure of such information in cases authorized by the Code or required by law.",
"We also believe that state board rules of professional conduct might require such action by professional engineers.",
"We believe that in cases where the public health and safety is endangered, engineers not only have the right but also the ethical responsibility to reveal such facts to the proper persons." ;
proeth:wasattributedto "Case 136 Extraction" ;
prov:generatedAtTime "2026-03-01T13:14:37.526901"^^xsd:dateTime ;
prov:wasGeneratedBy "ProEthica Case 136 Extraction" .
Metadata
Extraction details
Discovered in case
136
Discovered in pass
2
Discovered in section
discussion
First discovered
2026-03-01T13:03:31.215609+00:00
First case
136
Generated
2026-03-01T13:03:31.215609+00:00
Attributed to
Case 136 Extraction
Generated
2026-03-01T13:14:37.526901
Generated by
ProEthica Case 136 Extraction