The majority of international and national research organisations recognise that international research must now respect ethical standards. Many ethics committees in health research go to great lengths to establish acceptable and justifiable rules for research protocols submitted for review. The decision to establish ethical principles and universal values was taken in the context of strong criticism relating to the limitations of a standardised ethics system based on the application of such principles. This article supports the view that these criticisms are often based on weak arguments, that they are more concerned with abusive and restrictive practices which alter the principism, and that they reveal a poor understanding of modern versions of « specified principism », This methodological approach is careful to specify the limitations due to the application of universal principles, with regard to sensitivity to specific socio-cultural contexts, and seeks to encourage a participative form of ethical discussion. It offers a new way of combining the imperatives of ethnocultural sensitivity and respect for universal rights. |