What term refers to the moral principles that govern individual or group actions?

The term that refers to the moral principles governing individual or group actions is "Ethics." This concept encompasses the principles that guide behavior, helping individuals and societies distinguish between right and wrong, as well as understand their responsibilities and obligations.

Ethics is critical in various fields, including code enforcement, as it informs the decision-making processes of professionals tasked with upholding laws and regulations. When individuals act ethically, they contribute to a fair and just society, ensuring that their actions align with accepted moral values.

In contrast, the other terms do not encapsulate the same broad principle of moral governance as ethics does. Compliance refers more specifically to following laws and regulations rather than the underlying moral principles guiding those laws. Morality, while related, typically refers to the differentiation of intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are distinguished as proper and those that are improper but does not encompass the broader frameworks of ethical theory and application. Standards are more about established criteria or benchmarks for measuring performance or conduct rather than the moral principles themselves.