Chatham House Rule

Under the Chatham House Rule, anyone who comes to a meeting is free to use information from the discussion, but is not allowed to reveal who made any particular comment.

It enables individuals to express and debate controversial opinions without risking their professional standing and establishes a clear distinction between personal views and those of their employer.

[1] Chatham House has translated the rule into Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

In May 2015, release of a speech, which adhered to the rule, by ECB board member Benoît Cœuré caused divided opinion as to its use and his self-publication.

[4][5][6] Thereafter, ECB invocations of the rule for a question-and-answer session and opening remarks for Cœuré, respectively, by Vice President Vítor Constâncio and fellow board member Peter Praet, gained attention.