German Ethics Council (German: Deutscher Ethikrat) (Precursor from June 2001 to February 2008: National Ethics Council of Germany) is an independent council of experts in Germany addressing the questions of ethics, society, science, medicine and law and the probable consequences for the individual and society that result in connection with research and development, in particular in the field of the life sciences and their application to humanity.

The Ethics Council Act (Act on the Establishment of the German Ethics Council, in German: Gesetz zur Einrichtung des Deutschen Ethikrats (Ethikratgesetz – EthRG)), that entered into force on 1 August 2007, forms the basis for its activities.

Half of the 26 members are proposed by the Federal Government, while the other half of the 26 members is proposed by the Bundestag. The members of the German Ethics Council are then designated by the President of the Bundestag for four years. Through this procedure, different ethical approaches and a pluralistic spectrum of opinion should be represented. Independence is to be ensured, amongst others, by prohibiting the members to belong to the Federal Parliament or the Federal Government or to a Federal States’ Parliament or Government respectively.

The German Ethics Council fulfils a dual function as a forum for dialogue and an advisory body. In its function as an ethical dialogue forum, the German Ethics Council is intended, in accordance with its legal basis, to bring together specialist scientific discourses and to promote the debate in society, particularly through public events. In its function as a bioethical advisory body, the German Ethics Council has the task of drawing up statements and recommendations for political or legislative action. The Council ensures cooperation with other ethics bodies at national and international level.

The German Ethics Council acts either on its own initiative or mandated by the federal government and the German Bundestag. The council reports once a year to the German Bundestag and the federal government on its activities and the state of the debate in society.

In order to inform the public and encourage discussion in society, the council organises public events and provides information about its activities on its website, in its newsletter and annual report. Besides a series of public evening events called "Bioethics Forum" and its annual meeting – both taking place in Berlin – the council also organises public events outside of Berlin.

Generally, the council meets once a month; meetings are open to the public. In addition to these plenary sessions, the work on content is mainly carried out in working groups which are formed by decision of the plenary session on specific topics and meet at irregular intervals. The work of the council is supported by an administrative office, which is located in Berlin at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (in German: Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften).

In 2018, the budget of the German Bundestag provided 1.895 million Euros for the council's work.