Genetics and Insurance: Accessing and Using Private Information

2000 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Capron
Keyword(s):  
Life Insurance ◽  
Private Information ◽  
Human Genetics ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Rapid Progress ◽  
Genetic Privacy ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Right To Privacy ◽  
The Right ◽  
Made In

Is information about a person's genome, whether derived from the analysis of DNA or otherwise, protected by the right to privacy? If it is, why and in what manner? It often appears that some people believe that the answer to this question is to be found in molecular genetics itself. They point to the rapid progress being made in basic and applied aspects of this field of biology; this progress has remarkably increased what is known about human genetics. Since knowledge of a particular person's genetic makeup entails a potential intrusion into that person's most private realms and exposes him or her to dire results if revealed to others, they argue, the law needs to protect “genetic privacy.” There is nothing inherently wrong with this account, but it certainly presupposes that we know—and agree about—what it means to protect privacy and, indeed, what interests are implicated in the concept and why they matter. Rather than make this assumption, in this essay I first elaborate a concept of privacy before turning to the potential privacy implications that arise at the intersection of human genetics and the field of insurance. I argue that the core value here is self-determination broadly conceived—that control over one's genetic information may be important for achieving self-determination—but that at least in the context of contracts for life insurance, we should be reluctant to recognize “rights” that would permanently preclude the use of genetic data by insurers.

Summary judgment — Quo vadis?

2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-114
Author(s):  
Thino Bekker
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
High Court ◽  
The Core ◽  
Golden Opportunity ◽  
Quo Vadis ◽  
The Right ◽  
Summary Judgment ◽  
Made In

The summary judgment procedure in South African law provides for a speedy judgment in favour of a deserving plaintiff where it can be shown that the defendant does not have a triable defence. In 2019 the Rules Board made certain drastic amendments to the procedure of summary judgment in the high court. In this article the historical development of the procedure of summary judgment will be discussed, and the new amendments to rule 32 of the Uniform Rules of Court critically evaluated. It will be argued that the amendments to rule 32 were unnecessary and that it may diminish the right to access to justice in civil disputes. It will, however, also be argued that there are some merits in the critique raised by the Rules Board in relation to rule 32 and that the Rules Board missed a golden opportunity to overhaul the entire summary judgment procedure in a more sensible manner and in line with the core constitutional values of s 34 of the Constitution. It will be argued that rule 32 should be replaced in its entirety by a new, more streamlined procedure, and some recommendations for legal reform will be made in this regard.

19. Breach of confidence: Trade secrets and private information

2019 ◽  
pp. 483-512
Author(s):  
Stavroula Karapapa ◽  
Luke McDonagh
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Private Information ◽  
Technical Information ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Trade Secrets ◽  
The Right To Privacy ◽  
Common Definition ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Right

This chapter studies breach of confidence. In the United Kingdom, the area of breach of confidence has traditionally been used to protect ideas and information, including trade secrets. The doctrine of breach of confidence is judge-made law, rooted in equitable principles. In consequence, it has developed in a piecemeal, and sometimes contradictory fashion, so that the rationale for the action has not always been clear. Nevertheless, the law of confidence is broad enough in the United Kingdom to encompass: the common definition of a trade secret (commercial, usually technical information); personal, private information which may also have a commercial value (including information which may be protected under the right to privacy under Art. 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)); and information protected by the state. The chapter then looks at the role of trade secrets in intellectual property law and considers the EU Trade Secrets Directive.

scholarly journals Toward an Instrumental Right to Democracy

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 84-88
Author(s):  
Khalifa A. Alfadhel
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Soviet Bloc ◽  
End Of History ◽  
The Core ◽  
Form Of Government ◽  
Famous Book ◽  
The End Of History ◽  
The Right

The downfall of the Soviet Bloc in the early 1990s led to an atmosphere of exaggerated victory, notably captured in Francis Fukuyama's famous book, The End of History, which celebrated the ideological triumph of democracy as a unanimously agreed-upon ideal form of government. The international law literature was not immune from the sense of democratic rejoicing. Of special note in this regard was the notion of an entitlement to democracy, introduced by the late Thomas Franck. Drawing on ideas of self-determination in international law, which themselves date back to the American Declaration of Independence, Franck postulated an “emerging right to democratic governance.” He stipulated that “[s]elf-determination postulates the right of a people organised in an established territory to determine its collective political destiny in a democratic fashion and is therefore at the core of the democratic entitlement.” This essay considers Franck's claims, and argues that his view of democracy was too thin; instead, the essay argues for an instrumental conception of democracy that ties it to other rights and entitlements.

Monetary remedies for breach of confidence in privacy cases

Legal Studies ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 430-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Normann Witzleb
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Private Information ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Property Law ◽  
The Right To Privacy ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
Fundamental Freedoms ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Privacy Breaches ◽  
The Right

In Campbell v MGN Ltd, the House of Lords endorsed an expansive interpretation of the breach of confidence action to protect privacy interests. The scope and content of this transformed cause of action have already been subject to considerable judicial consideration and academic discussion. This paper focuses on the remedial consequences of privacy breaches. It undertakes an analysis of the principles which govern awards for pecuniary and non-pecuniary loss, the availability of gain-based relief, in particular an account of profits, and exemplary damages.Even in its traditional scope, the monetary remedies for breach of confidence raise complex issues, mainly resulting from the fact that this doctrine draws on multiple jurisdictional sources such as equity, contract and property law. The difficulties of determining the appropriate remedial principles are now compounded by the fact that English law also aims to integrate its obligation to protect the right to privacy under Art 8 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 1950 into the conceptual framework of the breach of confidence action.The analysis provided in this paper supports the contention that not only the scope of the cause of action but also important remedial issues are likely to remain in doubt until the wrong of ‘misuse of private information’ is freed from the constraints of the traditional action for breach of confidence. A separate tort would be able to deal more coherently and comprehensively with all wrongs commonly regarded as privacy breaches.

Regulating Privacy and Biobanks in the Netherlands

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aart C. Hendriks ◽  
Rachèl E. van Hellemondt
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Privacy Protection ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
European Economic Area ◽  
The Right To Privacy ◽  
Economic Area ◽  
The Right ◽  
Individual Self

The Netherlands does not have any specific legislation pertaining to human biological materials and data collection by biobanks. Instead, these issues are governed by a patchwork of laws, codes of practices, and other ethical instruments, where special emphasis is given to the right to privacy and self-determination. While draft legislation for biobanking was scheduled to enter into force in 2007, as of mid-2015 such legislation was still under consideration, with the intent that it would focus particularly on individual self-determination, the interests of research, the use of bodily materials collected by biobanks for criminal law purposes, and dilemmas around results that are clinically relevant for biobank participants. Under the current framework, the amount of privacy protection afforded to data is linked to its level of identifiability. International sharing of personal data to non-EU/European Economic Area countries is allowed if these countries provide adequate protection.

scholarly journals Privacy Right as A Personal Value in an Information Society

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Rezer ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Private Information ◽  
Information Society ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Right To Privacy ◽  
The Right To Privacy ◽  
Personal Value ◽  
The Right

The relevance of the topic is that the continuous and rapid increase in the role and volume of information in human life leads to the need to develop ways of protecting private information as a subject of personal property and personal value. Privacy is a natural human right and is enshrined in the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Basic Freedoms, as well as in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The regulation of the right to privacy is enshrined in the Russian Civil and Criminal Codes, which provide for legal liability for violations of this right. However, with regulations in place, the human element remains and often leads to leaks of private information, which destroys the personal value of the right. The article examines the concept of the right to privacy, its importance in the information society and human life, and the ways in which it can be protected. The aim of the study is to identify ways of protecting and complementing the right to privacy in the information society. The comparative legal analysis method allowed us to identify the mechanisms for the legal protection of the right to privacy. The case-analysis method enabled us to analyse Yandex’s data breach situation, while the content analysis method allowed us to make recommendations for protecting personal data. Main conclusions: the right to privacy as a personal value in the information society has not been sufficiently addressed in the scientific literature; self-protection as well as raising human legal awareness of information technology can be used as mechanisms to protect privacy.

scholarly journals Protection of privacy in Malaysia: A law for the future

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Zuryati Mohamed Yusoff
Keyword(s):  
Private Information ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
The Right To Privacy ◽  
Privacy Law ◽  
Privacy Act ◽  
Federal Constitution ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right

<p>In Malaysia, the rights and liberties of the individual are recognised in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia. However, the right to privacy does not have the express constitutional recognition enjoyed by other rights such as the right to life and liberty and freedom of expression. This thesis identifies gaps in the protection of privacy interests in the current legal framework. There is no self-standing law on privacy in Malaysia, though there are several laws which provide limited rights to privacy such as the laws on data protection and criminal law. The existing laws are inadequate to protect private information and to protect against the intrusion of privacy. The importation of foreign principles through the reception of English Common Law offers only limited protection. Malaysia should, therefore, have a specific law to protect privacy. With a view to attaining that goal for Malaysia, this thesis undertakes a comparative analysis of two different experiences of the development of the law of privacy. They are the privacy law in England, which is largely based on the law of breach of confidence, and the privacy law in New Zealand, which has a distinct privacy tort recognised in its case law. The conclusion is that those countries’ experience can inform developments in Malaysia, and that the best way for Malaysia to develop its law now is by the enactment of a specific Privacy Act.</p>

scholarly journals From Francis Coralie Mullin to Swaraj Abhiyan: Adding Multidimensionality to the Conditional Social Right to Food

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-40
Author(s):  
Saurabh Bhattacharjee
Keyword(s):  
Indian Subcontinent ◽  
Right To Food ◽  
The Core ◽  
Explicit Mention ◽  
State Obligations ◽  
History Of ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Made In

Global hunger is widely seen as one of the foremost threats to humanity. The Constitutionality of the Right to Food has been a long-standing debate within the Indian Subcontinent as there is no explicit mention of the said right. Through various judicial pronouncements over a relatively long period of time, the right to food has been construed to be constitutionally ingrained. This paper explores the history of the right to food as a fundamental right in India, as per the Constitution. It analyses landmark cases on the right to food and examines the fundamental right to food, in terms of state obligations. Is the impact of the entrenchment of the right to food as a fundamental right, limited only to its symbolic meaning? Or has such right substantively shaped the contours of governmental policies too? What are the remedial interventions that the judiciary has made in view of the constitutional right to food? These are questions that the paper will explore. In this process, the paper will parse various judicial orders on the right to food and identify whether there are justiciable entitlements that presumptively constitute the core of the right. Further, the paper shall also highlight the multidimensionality of the right to food and illustrate that starting with Francis Mullin in the 1980s, to Laxmi Mandal and Swaraj Abhiyan in this decade. The courts have, through the above mentioned judgments, underscored the interrelatedness between the rights to food, health, shelter and right to work.

scholarly journals Consensus Ad Idem: A Plea for Objectivity in Telephonic Contracts

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-56
Author(s):  
D Ganesh Kumar ◽  
Akshay Douglas Gudinho
Keyword(s):  
Freedom Of Speech ◽  
Contract Law ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Objective Analysis ◽  
Due Diligence ◽  
Legal Certainty ◽  
The Right To Privacy ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Right ◽  
Made In

Consensus Ad Idem, legally defined as „meeting of minds‟, at the time of the formation of a contract, warrants a cardinal jurisprudential question which transcends its mere literal meaning. In Indian Contract Law, the trend has followed the test of objectivity, whereby it is not the actual intent of the party or parties that enter into the contract that is the subject of judicial evaluation, but it is what a reasonable man would deliberate in the peculiar circumstances of the case. However, the evaluation of telephonic conversations merit intrinsic jurisprudential insight. While applying the objective test, the questions that arise are - is there legal certainty of assent to a contract over telephonic conversations i.e. whether there is free consent. Do the parties have the capacity to contract over telephone? What are the liabilities of the telephone operator and his legal bond to the contract between two or more contracting parties? Does it amount to violation of the fundamental rights to freedom of speech and expression and the right to privacy? The authors attempt to provide an objective analysis of communication in contracts over telephonic means and the constitutional environment embedded therein. To this end, a plea for due diligence prior to the formation of telephonic contracts shall be made in order to bring objectivity to the judicial evaluation of telephonic contracts.

Does Situation Matter in Conceptions of Children’s Nurturance and Self-determination Rights?

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 631-659
Author(s):  
Juliana Karras-Jean Gilles ◽  
Isabelle Elisha ◽  
Martin D. Ruck ◽  
Harriet R. Tenenbaum ◽  
Ingrid A. Willenberg
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Mixed Race ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Domain Theory ◽  
Cognitive Domain ◽  
Mixed Design ◽  
The Right To Privacy ◽  
The Right

Recent work regarding children’s rights has advocated for research in non-Western settings and with participants who are ethnic/racial minorities. We addressed these issues through secondary analysis of interviews with 63 mixed-race South African children (9-, 11-, and 13-year olds) and their mothers. Participants’ responses to hypothetical vignettes depicting children’s nurturance and self-determination rights scenarios were coded using social cognitive domain theory and subsequently analysed with mixed-design anovas. Outcomes figured prominently in children’s and mothers’ reasoning. Moral reasoning was primarily invoked when discussing the right to privacy, extending earlier work and suggesting the importance of privacy across cultural contexts.

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