Ethics Code Individual-Person Applicability Non-Waivability Through Business Form Affirmed by BER
P · Principle
Individual
http://proethica.org/ontology/case/181#Ethics_Code_Individual-Person_Applicability_Non-Waivability_Through_Business_Form_Affirmed_by_BER
Properties
Instance of
EthicsCodeIndividual-PersonApplicabilityNon-WaivabilityThroughBusinessForm
http://proethica.org/ontology/intermediate#EthicsCodeIndividual-PersonApplicabilityNon-WaivabilityThroughBusinessForm
Applied to
Engineer B's firm and its design work potentially violating state and local safety code requirements
Concrete expression
The BER affirms that the ethics code applies to Engineer B as a real person who establishes and implements policies within the business structure of the reviewed firm, and that the firm's business form or type does not negate or influence Engineer B's individual conformance obligations under the code
Confidence
0.88
Importance
medium
Interpretation
Engineer B cannot claim that the code does not apply because the work was performed through a firm rather than by Engineer B personally; the individual professional obligation persists regardless of organizational form
Invoked by
Engineer B Peer-Reviewed Engineer Subject to Safety Code Findings
Tension resolution
No tension; the principle is applied as a clarifying rule that forecloses a potential defense based on business form
Source Evidence
Source text
business form or type should not negate nor influence conformance of individuals to the Code
Text references
The Code deals with professional services, which services must be performed by real persons. Real persons in turn establish and implement policies within business structures.
The Code is clearly written to apply to the Engineer and it is incumbent on a member of NSPE to endeavor to live up to its provisions. This applies to all pertinent sections of the Code.
business form or type should not negate nor influence conformance of individuals to the Code
TTL
@prefix case181: <http://proethica.org/ontology/case/181#> .
@prefix owl: <http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#> .
@prefix proeth: <http://proethica.org/ontology/intermediate#> .
@prefix prov: <http://www.w3.org/ns/prov#> .
@prefix rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> .
@prefix xsd: <http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#> .
case181:Ethics_Code_Individual-Person_Applicability_Non-Waivability_Through_Business_Form_Affirmed_by_BER a proeth:EthicsCodeIndividual-PersonApplicabilityNon-WaivabilityThroughBusinessForm,
owl:NamedIndividual ;
rdfs:label "Ethics Code Individual-Person Applicability Non-Waivability Through Business Form Affirmed by BER" ;
proeth:appliedto "Engineer B's firm and its design work potentially violating state and local safety code requirements" ;
proeth:conceptCategory "Principle" ;
proeth:concreteexpression "The BER affirms that the ethics code applies to Engineer B as a real person who establishes and implements policies within the business structure of the reviewed firm, and that the firm's business form or type does not negate or influence Engineer B's individual conformance obligations under the code" ;
proeth:confidence "0.88" ;
proeth:discoveredincase "181" ;
proeth:discoveredinpass "2" ;
proeth:discoveredinsection "discussion" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredat "2026-03-01T09:15:02.559197+00:00" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredincase "181" ;
proeth:generatedattime "2026-03-01T09:15:02.559197+00:00" ;
proeth:importance "medium" ;
proeth:interpretation "Engineer B cannot claim that the code does not apply because the work was performed through a firm rather than by Engineer B personally; the individual professional obligation persists regardless of organizational form" ;
proeth:invokedby "Engineer B Peer-Reviewed Engineer Subject to Safety Code Findings" ;
proeth:principleclass "Ethics Code Individual-Person Applicability Non-Waivability Through Business Form" ;
proeth:sourcetext "business form or type should not negate nor influence conformance of individuals to the Code" ;
proeth:tensionresolution "No tension; the principle is applied as a clarifying rule that forecloses a potential defense based on business form" ;
proeth:textreferences "The Code deals with professional services, which services must be performed by real persons. Real persons in turn establish and implement policies within business structures.",
"The Code is clearly written to apply to the Engineer and it is incumbent on a member of NSPE to endeavor to live up to its provisions. This applies to all pertinent sections of the Code.",
"business form or type should not negate nor influence conformance of individuals to the Code" ;
proeth:wasattributedto "Case 181 Extraction" ;
prov:generatedAtTime "2026-03-01T09:25:33.358339"^^xsd:dateTime ;
prov:wasGeneratedBy "ProEthica Case 181 Extraction" .
Metadata
Extraction details
Discovered in case
181
Discovered in pass
2
Discovered in section
discussion
First discovered
2026-03-01T09:15:02.559197+00:00
First case
181
Generated
2026-03-01T09:15:02.559197+00:00
Attributed to
Case 181 Extraction
Generated
2026-03-01T09:25:33.358339
Generated by
ProEthica Case 181 Extraction