Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology
Under article 23 of the Gene Technology Act, the Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology (ECNH) is an extra-parliamentary advisory committee, appointed to advise the Federal Council and the federal and cantonal authorities on matters of regulations and enforcement of legislation in the field of non-human biotechnology. The Federal Council established the ECNH by decree on 27 April 1998. It is administratively attached to the Federal Office for the Environment in the Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications. Mandate. The ECNH monitors and evaluates developments in and applications  of non-human biotechnology and comments from an ethical perspective on the scientific and social questions arising in this connection. It advises It collaborates with other federal and cantonal committees concerned with questions of biotechnology. It engages in a dialogue with the public on ethical issues associated with biotechnology. It reports to the Federal Council periodically on its activities. Members. The ECNH consists of 12 members from a range of disciplines, either specialists in ethics or coming from other fields but with a scientific or practical knowledge of ethics. Various ethical approaches also need to be represented in a balanced  manner. The members of the Committee are appointed by the Federal Council for a term of 4 years. Secretariat. The Committee is assisted by a scientific secretariat, which reports to the Chair of the Committee and is administratively attached to the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN). Publications. Section::::"Beiträge zur Ethik und Biotechnologie" series. Expert reports commissioned by the ECNH which are of interest to a wider audience are published (in the original language) in a series entitled „Beiträge zur Ethik und Biotechnologie“ (Contributions to Ethics and Biotechnology). These reports provide a basis for consideration of the ethical aspects of  biotechnology and serve as working papers for the ECNH. Miscellaneous. In October 2008, the ECNH was awarded the Ig Nobel Prize for the publication of "The dignity of living beings with regard to plants - Moral consideration of plants for their own sake".