Ethical behaviour was not a new discovery, although defining its meaning was not easy, human rights advocate George Bizos said on Thursday.

Addressing a gala dinner in Pretoria hosted by recently launched business organisation Unashamedly Ethical, Bizos entertained the audience with his offbeat humour and tangential leaps.

These included anecdotes, that Bizos admitted to much laughter, "weren't very original", and a recent court case "I lost", to the writings of Aristotle and Shakespeare.

"Human rights didn't come into being in 1948 because the United Nations adopted a declaration. Let us celebrate that, but it's very difficult to define ethics."

However, Bizos was without playfulness in his defence of an independent judiciary.

"Our independent judiciary must be protected; it is the most important body to protect our rights. Criticise it if you will, but never stop believing in it."

Also addressing the dinner, Competition Commission head Shan Ramburuth applauded the organisation for its commitment to rooting out unethical behaviour in companies.

"Unashamedly Ethical is an important initiative in achieving these goals."

Referring to the price fixing scandals involving Tiger Brands and most recently Sasol, Ramburuth said the CEOs of both companies had been "squirming" in their seats.

"It is longer good enough to say I didn't know."

He also lauded Sasol chief executive Pat Davies for saying that award structures could encourage collusion.

"We all understand the incentive for being in business is making a profit but making a profit is not an unfettered right," said Ramburuth.