Draft version 1.7 beta — Revised October 27, 2026
← Return to the table in Chapter 4 § 5
Illegal acts
A topic page linked from Chapter 4 § 5, Examples of Reported Violations of Enforceable Ethics Codes.
Definition
The sense of this prohibition against illegal acts involves acts that are primarily related to our roles as geoscientists, including the business and interpersonal aspects of that profession. By "interpersonal aspects," I am including illegal discrimination, harassment, and sexual harassment in any context related to our roles as geoscientists: at the office, in the field, at meetings, online, and so on.
We have a presumptive civic duty to obey the law and are responsible to society if we fail to do so. "Obey the law" is one of the ten moral rules in common morality.1,2 The code under which professional geoscientists are licensed by many states in the US has the force of law. Obeying the law is an explicit element of most ethics codes, and is certainly implicit in the rest.
Relevant provisions in geoethics codes
AAPG – § 2a-b; AEG – § 1.3; AGU – § IIIB2, IIIB14; AIPG – § 2.1.1; ASBOG – § 16-3a-b, 16-3d; CAL – § a, c7.
Code Abbreviations
- AAPG — American Association of Petroleum Geologists, AAPG Code of Ethics (2024), Link to current document
- AEG — Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists, AEG Code of Conduct (2018), Link to current document
- AGU — American Geophysical Union, AGU Scientific Integrity and Professional Ethics (2023), Link to current document
- AIPG — American Institute of Professional Geologists, AIPG Code of Ethics (2019), Link to current document
- ASBOG — Association of State Boards of Geology, Model Rules and Regulations, Section 16, Code of Ethics (2019), Link to current document; see pages 27 to 29.
- Cal — Regulations Relating to the Practices of Geology and Geophysics, California Code of Regulations, Title 16, Division 29, Section 3065, Professional Standards and Code of Professional Conduct – Professional Geology and Professional Geophysics (2026), Link to current document; see pages 30 to 33.
Notes and References
1 Gert, B., 2004, Common Morality – Deciding What To Do: Oxford, U.K., Oxford University Press, 179 p., ISBN 978-0-19-531421-2.
2 Gert, B., 2005, Morality – Its Nature and Justification [revised edition]: Oxford, U.K., Oxford University Press, 438 p., ISBN-13: 978-0-19-517689-6, 978-0-19-517690-2 (pbk.)