Conflict of Interest
Policy Objective To describe the ethical principles which will govern the conduct of Governors in the fulfillment of their responsibilities on behalf of the Southeast Academic Medical Organization (SEAMO)
Policy Statement
Governors, acting in their own right, or as Officers, and Committee members are expected to act in such a way as to preserve the integrity of the governance process and to avoid any conflict of interest with respect to their fiduciary responsibilities.
All Governors, Officers, and Committee members have a legal obligation to act in the best interests of SEAMO notwithstanding their own personal interests. They are in a position of fiduciary trust and must always be seen to be acting in keeping with that trust. To that end, the Governors have approved a Regulation concerning Conflict of Interest and prepared this policy.
For the purposes of this policy, a conflict of interest may arise when a person is placed in a situation where their interest, financial or other, or that of an immediate family member (spouse or partner, child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, brother, sister and/or their spouses or partners) appears to conflict with their primary responsibility to SEAMO.
As provided for in the Rules and Regulations, “ no Governor shall be considered to be directly or indirectly interested in any matter before the Governing Committee or a Committee or task group by reason only of the fact that the Governor represents a department, organization or Signatory which has an interest in the outcome.”
However, Governors are expected to follow the guidelines laid out below which apply to all Governors, Officers and Committee members:
1. Governors, Officers and Committee members must represent unconflicted loyalty to the interests of SEAMO. This obligation overrides any loyalty to another organization, regional interests or the personal interests of a Governor, Officer or Committee member.
2. Governors, Officers and Committee members must not use their position to obtain personal financial benefit or, in other ways to advance their own interests.
3. It is the responsibility of each Goverrnor, Officer and Committee member to consider and to actively inquire into and disclose any personal or family circumstances which might suggest or raise a perception of conflict of interest in respect to their responsibilities to SEAMO and take such action as this policy and the Rules and Regulations require.
4. If there is a conflict, the Governor, Officer or Committee member cannot vote or participate in the discussion, either directly or indirectly, with respect to the matter, and may be required to leave the discussion whilst the matter is being discussed.
Procedure The Chair (or Presiding Officer) shall, at the start of any meeting, enquire as to whether any Governor, Officer or Committee member present has a conflict of interest regarding any item on the Agenda.
If a conflict of interest exists, or occurs:
a. the Governor, Officer or Committee member shall declare a conflict of interest at the Governance Committee or other Committee meeting considering the matter, or if the conflict of interest arises outside of a meeting, shall advise the Chair of the conflict as soon as possible;
b. if a Governor, Officer or Committee member does not declare a conflict of interest but another Governor, Officer or Committee member is aware of the conflict, the latter must advise the other Governors, or the Chair, or Chair of a Committee which is considering the matter;
c. upon being advised of the conflict, the Chair shall then determine an appropriate course of action;
d. a Governor, Officer or Committee member who disagrees with the course of action determined by a Chair or Presiding Officer shall be given full opportunity to be heard by the Governors.
e. after full discussion, the Governors shall decide whether or not there is a conflict of interest. The Governance Committee decision is final, and the Director, Officer or Committee member, if found to be in conflict, shall abide by the decision of the Governors.
