HKAS Supplementary Criteria No. 6: Code of Conduct

HKAS Supplementary Criteria No. 6: Code of Conduct (HKAS SC-06) is an essential normative policy document published by the Hong Kong Accreditation Service (HKAS) under the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) of the Hong Kong SAR Government. Designed to enforce rigorous ethical governance and professional integrity across Hong Kong's testing, inspection, and certification (TIC) sector, this document establishes mandatory ethical standards and anti-corruption requirements for all HKAS-accredited bodies operating under HOKLAS, HKIAS, and HKCAS schemes. The criteria outline strict rules regarding professional integrity, objectivity, impartiality, confidentiality, avoidance of conflicts of interest, and anti-bribery measures aligned with the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (Cap. 201). HKAS SC-06 mandates that accredited conformity assessment bodies establish formal internal codes of conduct, enforce whistleblowing procedures, conduct periodic corruption prevention training, and institute robust management systems to prevent fraud, falsification of test results, or improper influence during evaluation procedures. Serving as a crucial open educational resource, this regulatory criteria document provides fundamental governance frameworks, ethical compliance guidelines, and quality assurance principles for undergraduate and postgraduate students, laboratory directors, compliance officers, and quality management professionals studying testing and certification operations, business ethics, quality management systems, and regulatory compliance.