Professional ethics is a system or code of agreed behaviour, relating to the practice of a profession rather than to your personal or cultural beliefs about what is right and wrong. The code of ethics will vary according to the profession. Medical ethics, for example, stress the importance of not harming the patient for any reason; this code would not allow a doctor to try out a new treatment on an unsuspecting patient, say. Legal ethics do not allow a criminal lawyer to defend a client's innocence if s/he has already admitted guilt to the lawyer. Business ethics forms a part of most business courses, where students have to think about what business practices are and are not acceptable (which isn't always te same as legal.)
Ethics are not the same as rules; the word usually refers to principles that aren't legally binding or that would be difficult to enforce by law.
Ethics are not the same as rules; the word usually refers to principles that aren't legally binding or that would be difficult to enforce by law.
