International Compilation of Human Research Standards

Disclaimer: Though this Compilation contains information of a legal nature, it has been developed for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or opinions as to the current operative laws, regulations, or guidelines of any jurisdiction. In addition, because new laws, regulations, and guidelines are issued on a continuing basis, this Compilation is not an exhaustive source of all current applicable laws, regulations, and guidelines relating to international human subject research protections. While reasonable efforts have been made to assure the accuracy and completeness of the information provided, researchers and other individuals should check with local authorities and/or research ethics committees before starting research activities.

General Request for Public Input and Comments: To request that we include a new standard or a new country in the International Compilation, or to let us know of changes to these standards or broken links, please email us at OHRP-Edu@hhs.gov.

The complete version of the International Compilation of Human Research Standards can be downloaded by clicking the button. For region-specific compilations, see the links below.

Download Complete Version

The International Compilation of Human Research Standards is a listing of over 1,000 standards on human subjects protections in 131 countries and from many international organizations. These standards may include laws, regulations, and/or guidelines. Most of the listings provide hyperlinks to the source documents, some in English and some in their native language. The standards are classified into nine categories:

  1. General, i.e., applicable to most or all types of human subjects research
  2. Drugs and Devices
  3. Clinical Trial Registries
  4. Research Injury
  5. Social-Behavioral Research
  6. Privacy/Data Protection
  7. Human Biological Materials
  8. Genetic
  9. Embryos, Stem Cells, and Cloning

Region-Specific Compilations of Human Research Standards

Content created by Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP)
Content last reviewed