In 1997, the Council of Europe established the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine. It is generally regarded as an important addition to the general human rights laid down in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950), in particular with a view to the developments in modern biology and medicine. The Biomedicine Convention, which entered into force in 2000, is a framework treaty, meaning that a number of issues have to be dealt with or will be elaborated in additional Protocols; at this moment, three such Protocols have already been opened for signature. This volume of essays, written in honour of Henriette Roscam Abbing upon her retirement as Professor of Health Law at the University of Utrecht, gives an overview of some of the most important issues raised by the Convention. In six parts, this volume discusses the basic concepts and leading principles; the provision of services; the rights of patients; research; human tissue and genetics; and the implementation of the Convention.
This protocol covers the full range of research activities in the health field that involve interventions on human beings. It aims to protect the dignity and identity of everyone involved, without discrimination.
This anthology aims to provide Nordic perspectives on the young and evolving field of health law – or biomedical law – by reflecting on issues that have been explored within the activities of the Nordic Network for Research in Biomedical Law. In the emergence of this fairly new legal discipline, it has become very clear that the Nordic region forms a part of Europe that has been strongly influenced by both hard and soft law initiatives from the European Union and the Council of Europe, but also that Nordic identity, culture, and collaboration clearly remain an important factor in the legal development of this particular region. The book is divided thematically into three sections. The first deals with foundational and general issues of health law, the second with patients’ rights, and the third with issues related to advancements in biomedical science. Part One includes two chapters on the relationship between health law and human rights, together with discussions on specific Nordic approaches to the organisation and regulation of health services, to constitutional protection of the right to health and to the legal discipline of health law, as such. One chapter provides an overview of the mission and tasks of the Nordic Committee on Bioethics. The section on patient’s rights deals with the development – or absence – of special legislation on the status of patients, but also with issues of coercive care and of cultural accommodation in health services, as well as the implications that assessments and decisions made in health care services may have for the patient’s right to other entitlements, e.g. sickness benefits. In the third section, on biomedical science, one author explores the concept of human dignity while another discusses the challenges facing European integration of biomedical research regulation. Specific topics, such as different approaches to biobank regulation and genetic privacy in family relations, are also addressed, and, in the final chapter, the legal status of deceased foetuses. While the volume provides Nordic perspectives on health law, the issues discussed are general. The book should therefore be of great interest not only to readers wanting a better understanding of the Nordic situation, but also to anyone with an interest in the challenging health law issues facing society in our time. The authors are members of the Nordic Network for Research in Biomedical Law.
International Health Law and Ethics. Basic Documents contains a collection of treaty documents and soft law on health care rights and health ethics, used in health law training programs. Regional documents and explanatory reports on health care rights, which are derived from international human rights law, provide a way of “unwrapping” government obligations in health care, making rights more specific, accessible and (judicially) accountable. In addition, soft law declarations and medical ethics contribute to understanding the moral meaning of human rights in health care. As such, the principles and standards provide practical guidance for States when dealing with equal access to health care services, the rights of (categories of) patients, biomedical research, organ donation and transplantation, genetics and public health. These topics structure the approach of International Health Law and Ethics. This guide covers the basic documents, while general comments and explanatory reports amplify the principles embodied in the human rights treaties. The authoritative interpretations clarify a ‘European approach’ on the State’s obligations concerning health care rights and ethics. This volume is an initiative of the Erasmus Observatory on Health Law. It will be a helpful guide for all trainers, health care professionals and students interested in human rights issues in health care.
The Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, also referred to as the "Oviedo Convention", celebrated the 10th anniversary of its entry into force in 2009. This legally binding instrument aims to protect the integrity, dignity and identity of all human beings and guarantees everyone, without discrimination, the respect for their rights and fundamental freedoms with regard to the application of biology and medicine. It shares with the European Convention on Human Rights the same underlying approach and many ethical principles, and provides a general framework for the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms in the field of biomedicine. The Oviedo Convention also addresses new challenges in biomedicine that are brought about by technological and scientific developments, making it a reference text for patient rights at the European level. The principles laid down in the Oviedo Convention were further developed and complemented in additional protocols in specific fields: prohibition of cloning of human beings, transplantation of organs and tissues of human origin, and biomedical research and genetic testing for health purposes.
This is a comprehensive reference text that examines the current state of Legal Medicine, which encompasses Forensic Medicine, in the 21st century. It examines the scope of both legal and forensic medicine, its application and study and has adopted a wide ranging approach including multinational authorship. It reviews the differences between and similarities of forensic and legal medicine, the need for academic qualification, the applications to many and varied fields including international aid, military medicine, health law and the application of medical knowledge to both criminal law and tort/civil law, sports medicine and law, gender and age related factors from obstetrics through to geriatrics and palliative care as well as cultural differences exploring the Christian/Judeo approach compared with that within Islamic cultures, Buddhism and Hinduism. The book looks at practical applications of legal medicine within various international and intercultural frameworks. This is a seminal authoritative text in legal and forensic medicine. It has a multi-author and multinational approach which crosses national boundaries. There is a great interest in the development of health law and legal medicine institutes around the world and this text comes in on the ground floor of this burgeoning discipline and provides the foundation text for many courses, both undergraduate and postgraduate. It defines the place of legal medicine as a specialized discipline.
