Moral Conscience Assessment and Persuasion-to-Good Standard

Chapter 1 · General Provisions

1.1 To define and defend the moral bottom line of humanity, to promote social integrity, reduce transaction costs and increase human well-being, the World Credit Organization (WCO) establishes this standard in accordance with generally accepted international legal principles and practice.

1.2 Legal basis

1. The constitutional principle of freedom: the constitutions of most nations grant people the freedom to defend their legitimate rights, to uphold social justice and to express themselves.
2. The principle of public order and good morals, found in the civil law of most nations, which gives people the right to uphold social justice.
3. The principle of good faith, which most nations treat as a basic rule of civil and commercial law and which places a duty of integrity on everyone.
4. The principle of freedom of contract, which gives people the liberty to enter into civil agreements.

1.3 Acts performed in applying and enforcing this standard are deemed tripartite or multi-party contractual acts to which WCO is a party as witness or supervisor, concluded in the District of Columbia, United States. Such acts and any disputes arising from them are governed and protected by the laws of the District of Columbia and United States federal law; jurisdiction lies with the International Moral Court or with the courts of the District of Columbia and the federal courts of the United States.

1.5 Moral conscience assessment follows the principles of objectivity, fairness and reasonableness.

1.7 To guard against moral hazard, an applicant for assessment must provide a credit identity card or valid proof of identity and establish an integrity file.

1.8 Opinions issued under this standard are opinions in principle, made on the assumption that the evidence submitted is true and accurate. A substantive finding on whether conduct meets the moral conscience standard is made under the ICE8000 international credit-dispute arbitration or adjudication standards. Opinions on conduct that violates the bottom line are marked "suspected"; opinions on conduct that meets it are marked "in principle". All opinions are views for reference only and never replace the independent judgement of the parties concerned. Assessment opinions and Letters of Persuasion are credit information.

1.9 WCO supports and encourages people, within the principles of integrity and the moral bottom line, to discipline conduct that violates the bottom line, to reward moral conduct, and to defend the moral bottom line of all humanity. WCO members must not violate the moral bottom line.

1.10 In this standard, an organization includes any entity, individual or region. Senior personnel include legal representatives, actual controllers, board and supervisory board members and secretaries, managers and deputy managers. ICE8000 integrity practitioner institutions are WCO member institutions certified as meeting the ICE8000 requirements for knowledge, competence and professional ethics; they are members, not branches or agents, of WCO.

1.11–1.12 All parties applying this standard must observe the principles of integrity, the moral bottom line and the bottom line of social responsibility. Parties are deemed to have read and accepted the standard in full, but any party who finds a clause unfair may, after publicly stating its reasons in writing, decline to be bound by that clause.

Chapter 2 · The Moral Bottom Line

2.1 Human moral conscience is the subjective pursuit and defence of humanity's universal values. Across times and places, the moral has sometimes been mistaken for the immoral and vice versa. Right and wrong should not be judged by the success or failure of the actor, nor by law, state power, custom or the size of a majority, but by whether the actor violates humanity's universal values.

2.2 However refined, law and institutions can only approach perfection; they will always contain flaws. Human moral conscience fills those gaps and increases human well-being.

2.3 Humanity's universal values are principles that apply regardless of time, place, ethnicity, religion or belief, such as: the primacy of basic human rights; equality of opportunity for personal development; rewarding good and punishing evil, rewarding merit and penalising fault; integrity; and fairness, justice and openness in the distribution of benefits and the settlement of disputes.

2.4 Legitimate rights are the rights of a person, organization or region that conform to humanity's universal values, whether or not the laws or customs of a particular time and place support them.

2.5 A rights-holder may voluntarily waive or contractually transfer legitimate rights. Absent such waiver or transfer, no one may on any pretext steal, seize, erode or covet another's legitimate rights. Doing so, or creating the potential for such harm, is what we call evil.

2.6 The bottom line, in short: do no evil

Conduct that meets these three points is conduct in keeping with the moral bottom line. A person, organization or region that resolves to act, and genuinely begins to act, in this way may be considered moral.

2.7 Immoral acts

1. Acting with the purpose of harming or potentially harming another's legitimate rights, whether or not any benefit is obtained.
2. Seeking or defending the interests of one party, or oneself, at the cost of another's legitimate rights, whether or not the aim is achieved.
3. Causing harm through improper means, even without ill intent or even with good intent, and then refusing to correct it or sincerely apologise once one knows or ought to know of it.
4. Deliberately exploiting flaws in law, institutions or bad customs to harm another's legitimate rights.

2.8 Thoughts or motives that violate the bottom line are immoral thoughts or motives. Until they are corrected, no liability arises because no act has occurred, but others should deal with such a person or organization with caution.

2.9 Outside the scope of moral assessment: conduct, thoughts or motives within a person's private life; and conduct, thoughts or motives that have no victim and no potential victim.

Chapter 3 · Noble Conduct

3.1 Without violating the bottom line, people may occasionally, for a time or for life, pursue higher moral aims and act on them. Where such pursuit conforms to humanity's universal values, it is assessed as noble conduct, including in particular:

1. Keeping the bottom line while striving for outcomes that benefit oneself on the premise of benefiting others.
2. Keeping the bottom line while striving to benefit others, without particular regard to whether one's own interests suffer.
3. Keeping the bottom line while striving to practise humanity's universal values, without regard to one's own interests.

3.2 Individuals, organizations and regions that perform noble conduct are assessed as noble individuals, organizations or regions.

Chapter 4 · Responsibility for Immoral Acts

4.1–4.2 Where an organization or a natural person acts immorally, legal liability, if the act is unlawful, is borne by law. Whether or not the act is unlawful, credit responsibility is borne by the organization, its senior personnel and the staff at fault, or by the individual and those at fault. Staff may not deny their credit responsibility on the grounds that they were acting in an official capacity. Children under ten and persons without legal capacity bear no credit responsibility; where they were incited, the inciter is responsible. Minors from ten to eighteen are responsible for acts commensurate with their age and understanding.

4.3 Where an immoral act occurs in a region but the actor cannot be identified, no responsible party is assessed; once identified, responsibility attaches directly to the actor.

4.4 Order of credit responsibility within an organization

1. The organization itself.
2. The head of its decision-making body (chair or equivalent), its legal representative and its actual controller.
3. The head of its executive body (general manager or equivalent).
4. Members of the decision-making and supervisory bodies (directors, supervisors).
5. Other senior personnel.
6. Middle managers and staff who took part deliberately.
7. Middle managers and staff who took part through negligence or under compulsion.

Where a group of natural persons acts together, responsibility runs in order from the chief leader or organiser, to the chief planner, to those who played an important role, to deliberate participants, to negligent or compelled participants (4.6). Where several organizations act together, the same ordering is applied among the organizations first, then within each (4.7).

4.8 The status of responsible party for an immoral act is a temporary, cautionary credit status; it lapses automatically once the act is corrected or remedied.

Chapter 5 · Attribution of Reward

5.1 Where a natural person acts in keeping with the moral bottom line (and likewise for noble conduct), both credit reward and real-world reward belong to that person. Where an organization does so, credit reward belongs to the organization, its senior personnel and the staff causally connected with the act; the real-world reward is allocated by the person giving the commendation, and otherwise belongs to the organization.

5.3 A natural person who acts in keeping with the bottom line is assessed as a moral individual once the act is assessed.

5.4 The order in which credit reward is attributed within an organization mirrors the order of responsibility in Chapter 4, from the organization itself down to staff who took part passively; those who actively took part or promoted the act rank ahead of those who took part passively. Once the act is assessed, all such parties are assessed as moral organizations or moral individuals unless there is evidence or reason to the contrary.

5.5–5.6 Where several persons or organizations act together, the person giving the commendation may name all of them, or attribute reward in order from the chief leader or organiser, to the chief planner, to those who played an important role, to active participants, to passive participants.

Chapter 6 · Assessment Procedure in Principle

6.1 The procedure for an assessment in principle:

1. Application. The applicant applies to an ICE8000 integrity practitioner institution, undertakes to observe this standard, the principle of integrity, the moral bottom line and the bottom line of social responsibility, submits the evidence, and makes a declaration with an oath-of-conscience clause.
2. Formal review and service. If the file is complete, the institution serves the assessed party with a Notice of Opinion in Principle (either for conduct in keeping with the bottom line or for immoral conduct) and grants seven days to object. If incomplete, the application is returned with reasons.
3. Objection. A party who fails to object in time without good cause is deemed to have no objection. The period may be extended for good cause. To object, the assessed party must reciprocally undertake in writing to observe this standard, the principle of integrity and the moral bottom line, and make an oath-of-conscience declaration; an objection without these undertakings is invalid or of little weight.
4. Issuance. If no valid objection is made, the institution issues the applicant an Opinion in Principle. Otherwise it issues a Notice of Termination; if the applicant believes the objection was made in bad faith, it may pursue liability for breach.

6.2 In the course of their work, ICE8000 integrity practitioner institutions, and anyone publishing credit-evaluation information under the ICE8000 standards, may state an opinion in principle on conduct they discover, provided the documents are served on the parties and the objection period and method are notified.

Chapter 7 · Persuasion to Good

7.1 A region's steadfast defence of the moral bottom line is one of the foundations of its civilisation, and the level of that civilisation profoundly affects the well-being of everyone there and of their descendants.

7.3 Persuasion to good means urging an organization, by suitable means such as advice, admonition, exhortation or discipline, to correct an immoral act. Any letter used for this purpose, whatever its title, may be called a Letter of Persuasion.

7.4 Anyone may initiate persuasion to good to require an actor to correct an immoral act. No one may use it to require or compel another to perform noble conduct.

7.5 An immoral act may be addressed through the internal-complaint or public-complaint standards, or through the following procedure:

1. Application. The applicant applies to an ICE8000 integrity practitioner institution with the same undertakings and declaration as in Chapter 6. The institution may also initiate the procedure on its own motion.
2. Service. The institution drafts and serves a Letter of Persuasion, granting seven days to object. The letter may include an admonition clause as circumstances require.
3. Objection and correction. If the party raises a reasonable objection, corrects the act or forgoes the opportunity to commit it, the institution withdraws the letter. Otherwise the letter is retained for reference by specified organizations or individuals and, where necessary, may be made public. Where an admonition clause was given, the disciplinary procedure follows in due course.

Chapter 8 · Breach and Remedies

8.1 A party in breach of this standard bears: the applicable legal liability; credit liability, namely internal complaint, public complaint, credit warning, internal or public exposure and joint exposure; self-regulatory liability, namely public criticism, fines, withdrawal of credit identity or exclusion from practice; and compensation for material and moral loss, with punitive damages where the breach is a malicious breach of faith.

8.2 Remedies are pursued through the ICE8000 complaint, warning and exposure standards; through arbitration by the International Credit Dispute Arbitration Commission without a separate arbitration agreement; through adjudication by the International Moral Court; through the WCO member-supervision standard where the party is a WCO member; and through the courts of the District of Columbia and the federal courts of the United States.

8.3 A breach of this standard is an independent breach of faith. Falsification, concealment, defamation, insult or denial of another's right of credit evaluation in the course of applying this standard is an independent, and serious, malicious breach of faith.

8.4 Liability follows the principle of no complaint, no action: the injured party alone decides whether to pursue a breach, may forgive the party in breach, and may reach a settlement.

8.5–8.6 Employees or agents who took part in a breach are liable unless they prove they were not at fault. WCO bears financial liability for its own fault, budgeted in its next financial year and paid in instalments where large, and may recover from parties guilty of gross negligence or wilful breach.

Chapter 9 · Supplementary Provisions

9.1 Service and notice may be made by integrity letter under the ICE8000 integrity-letter standard, by ordinary post signed for by the recipient or their staff, adult family or agent, by online public notice where post fails (deemed served sixty days after first publication), or by any other lawful and reasonable means.

9.2 The standard takes effect on publication. 9.3 Terms not defined here take their meaning from the ICE8000 glossary of the international credit-evaluation profession. 9.5 A party who knows, or ought to know, that a clause has not been observed but fails to object promptly in writing waives the right to object.

9.6 The standard will be revised; parties should apply its latest version, though acts before a revision need not be bound by the revised clauses.

9.7 Copyright belongs to WCO. Members may use the standard freely and without limit. Non-members may use it free of charge for study, training, research, personal use, reproduction, citation, adaptation and reference, provided the source is acknowledged. Plagiarism or disguised plagiarism will be met with joint exposure and legal action.

9.8 Version numbers take the form ICE8000-a-b-c-d: a is the standard's serial number within the ICE8000 system, b the date of first drafting, c the date of latest revision, and d the number of revisions. 9.9 WCO is responsible for interpreting this standard.