The paper focuses on issues of development dimensions of Medical Law and its
ongoing process of standardization and harmonization on one hand, versus the
traditionally rooted and available principles of biomedical ethics, on the
other. The collision of new legal institutes and the spread of human rights
protections is evident. This paper follows the theory and practice of medical
ethics and medical law. The theoretical aspect points out medical ethics as
one of the sources of medical law. Legal theory makes a distinction between
formal and autonomous sources of medical law. Even though ethics is morally
much higher, law prevails because it has stronger sanctions and legal power.
In its practical aspect, this paper gives examples of different situations
of medical decision-making processes. Ethical rules are of the utmost
relevance in the domain of confidentiality and options of medical treatment.
But, in concrete medical procedures, where legal positions of patients are
evidently very significant, law has a more distinct function. Therefore,
explaining particular cases from medical malpractice, such as cases of penal,
civil or professional liability have an ethical dimension as well. Members of
medical professions in Serbia often find these cases unfair. Mostly this is
the consequence of ignorance in this kind of medical law and ethics
relations. A discussion about practical cases has in that sense a
self-learning component, which could be developed to strengthen ethical
reasoning and judgment.
The relationship between medical law and good medical ethics
