Professional Ethics, Laws, Regulations, and Standards
Domain 12 tests the legal and ethical frame around system integration: contract formation, mandatory tendering thresholds, intellectual property in software, data protection duties, and the management standards named in the syllabus. Items are usually definitional, so precise thresholds and time limits decide the mark.
Contract law fundamentals
- A contract forms through offer and acceptance. In tendering, the invitation to bid is not an offer; the bid is the offer; the notice of award is the acceptance and takes effect when issued, after which the written contract is signed within 30 days.
- Breach liability, force majeure, and agreed damages clauses are examined as concepts, not case law.
Tendering and government procurement
- Mandatory tendering covers large infrastructure and public-utility projects, state-funded projects, and projects using international or foreign government loans.
- Size thresholds: construction contract estimated at 400万元以上, goods 200万元以上, survey/design/supervision services 100万元以上.
- Methods: open tender and invited tender (at least three qualified invitees). The bid evaluation committee has five or more members, an odd number, with technical and economic experts at least two thirds of the total.
- Government procurement treats open tender as the principal method, alongside competitive negotiation, competitive consultation, single-source, and inquiry.
IP, data, and standards
- Software copyright arises on completion of development; registration is only prima facie evidence. Protection runs for the author's life plus 50 years for natural persons and 50 years after first publication for legal entities.
- Network Security Law, Data Security Law, and Personal Information Protection Law impose classification, minimisation, and consent duties; 等保2.0 provides the technical baseline.
- Standards to name correctly: ISO 9001 for quality, ISO/IEC 20000 for IT service management, ISO/IEC 27001 for information security, CMMI for process maturity, ITIL for service management practice.
- Ethics: lawful practice, honesty, confidentiality of client data, respect for intellectual property, avoidance of conflicts of interest, and protection of the public interest.
Worked example
A municipal e-government cloud project funded by fiscal money has a construction contract estimated at 500万元, goods at 250万元, and design services at 80万元. Construction exceeds 400万元 and goods exceed 200万元, so both must be tendered; design at 80万元 is below the 100万元 services threshold and need not be tendered on that basis alone, though the client may still choose to.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating the notice of award as ineffective until the contract is signed.
- Mixing up the 400/200/100万元 thresholds.
- Claiming copyright requires registration.
- Assuming invited tender may proceed with two bidders.