Ethical Review Process by Ethics Committees
1. Authority, Role and Mandate of Research Ethics Committees (RECs)
1.5. Dissenting and Abstaining
If a minority of REC members consider a project or some aspect of a project unethical, the REC’s operating procedures may state that an effort must be made to reach consensus. However, when a decision reached is not unanimously accepted by all members, the number of members dissenting and/or abstaining should be recorded in the minutes.
- Dissenting members are those that do not agree with the majority decision.
- Abstaining members are those that decide not to give their vote to either alternative.