Research Ethics Committee

Selflessness, truthfulness and reliability are just a few of the principles that guide researchers employed at the University of Lodz. The “Code of Ethics for Researchers” organises, systematises and summarises the values that guide researchers from the academic world.

The Commission's task is to issue opinions on applications concerning research projects at the University of Łódź involving human subjects, as well as research involving human biological material, in particular research referred to in Article 4(2) of the Act of 20 July 2018, on Higher Education and Science.

IMPORTANT! The scope of the Committee’s jurisdiction does not cover the matters which, by the virtue of the Act, belong to the jurisdiction of other bodies (e.g. committees on research bioethics operating at the Regional Medical Chambers).

Permission to conduct research must be obtained by employees, doctoral students and students. Before receiving a positive opinion, the Committee shall examine the research qualification, selection of the study and control groups or the supervision of the research. These actions are aimed at ensuring the reliability of the conducted research.

The Committee operates based on the guidelines of competitions announced by the National Science Centre, the National Centre for Research and Development and other agencies granting resources for conducting scientific research, concerning the need to give opinions on research experiences. When giving its opinion on an application, the Committee shall assess the research foreseen therein to ensure that the principles of research ethics are respected and that the rights of the research participants are protected.

For the research to be approved, the Research Ethics Committee shall verify if:

• the research documentation and data collection procedures are drawn up in accordance with the requirements and principles of scientific integrity, without exposing the study participants to the risk of injury or damage to health or its deterioration
• the qualifications of the researcher(s) is/are sufficient for the proper conduct of the research; this also applies to the auxiliary personnel, in particular, those collecting research material
• the rules for recruiting the research sample were properly planned
• consent to participate in the study comes from a person with decision-making authority
• proper supervision of the research project implementation is ensured
• the information for the study participant is comprehensibly formulated and contains all the required elements
• the requirements for the storage andprocessing of personal data of the study participants have been fulfilled,
• provision has been made for remuneration of study participants and whether its amount may affect voluntary participation in the study
• there are no dependencies between the researcher and the research participants that could affect the voluntariness of participation in the research or its course

The detailed scope of the Committee's activity and the procedure for obtaining an opinion shall be determined by its Rules of Procedure, which must be read before drafting the application

The Committee deliberates during meetings, which are convened no less than 2 times a semester. The date of the forthcoming meeting shall be given at least two weeks in advance and the date by which applications must be submitted.

The deadlines for submitting applications to the University of Lodz Research Ethics Committee in the academic year 2025/26 are:

• October 13, 2025 - application for the 1st Committee meeting
• November 18, 2025 - application for the 2nd Committee meeting
• January 13, 2026 - application for the 3rd Committee meeting
• February 17, 2026 - application for the 4th Committee meeting
• March 31, 2026 - application for the 5th Committee meeting
• May 26, 2026 - application for the 6th Committee meeting

Applications submitted after the application deadlines will be referred to the next meeting of the Committee.

The rules governing the work and activities of the Committee are set out in the Committee's Rules of Procedure. Pursuant to Order No. 35 of the Rector of the University of Łódź of 15 December 2025, new Rules of Procedure for the Committee has been introduced, together with appendices (available for download below). The work of the Committee is headed by the University of Lodz Vice-Rector for Science, and the Committee's composition for the term 2024-2028 is available on the website.