The following guideline emerged from the project DUMFE: Dual Use and Misuse of Research Results (“Dual use und Missbrauch von Forschungsergebnissen”), funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, 01GP2187). In recent years, dual use has become a significant issue in research ethics for numerous reasons, garnering considerable attention not only within the ethical community but also in the broader scientific community and among political and security circles. The present guideline provides such additional in-depth information on the definition, examples, legal as well as ethical issues and options for governance of dual use research. It has been written by ethicists and philosophers of technology, supported by lawyers and members of the commission for ethics in research of Forschungszentrum Jülich. It is intended to provide additional information supporting the design of and deliberation in institutional bodies dealing with ethics of security-relevant research. It aims to highlight decisions and options relevant to different institutions and refers to further sources of information throughout.


