[4] Its terms of reference[5] are: The Council selects topics to examine through a horizon scanning programme, which aims to identify developments relevant to biological and medical research.
Members of the Council meet quarterly to discuss and contribute to ongoing work, review recent advances in medical and biological research that raise ethical questions and choose topics for further exploration.
The Council is well known for its in-depth inquiries which usually take 18–24 months and are overseen by an expert working group, informed by extensive consultation and research.
Council members are drawn from relevant fields of expertise including science, medicine, sociology, philosophy and law, for an initial period of three years, with the possibility of an additional three-year term.
[56] In 2006-7, John Harris, Professor of Bioethics at the University of Manchester, and Dr Sarah Chan carried out an external review of the way ethical frameworks, principles, norms and guiding concepts feature in the Council's publications.