The Nuremburg Code ( Back ) Developed in response to the Nuremburg Trials of Nazi doctors who performed unethical experimentation during World War II, the Code was the first major international document to provide guidelines on research ethics. It made voluntary consent a requirement in clinical research studies, emphasizing that consent can be voluntary only if:

Participants are able to consent. They are free from coercion. They comprehend the risks and benefits involved.

The Code also states that researchers should minimize risk and harm, make sure that risks do not significantly outweigh potential benefits, use appropriate study designs and guarantee participants' freedom to withdraw at any time. The Nuremburg Code was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948.