Ethical and Legal Aspects of Regulating Genomic Research in International and Russian Practice

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 69-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
П. Калиниченко ◽  
P. Kalinichenko ◽  
Д. Пономарева ◽  
D. Ponomareva

Despite the UN efforts at the universal level, there are no legally binding instruments at this level devoted exclusively to biomedicine and genomic research. However, an experience in the field of protection against radiation exposure could be useful in this regard. The active development of Biomedicine and genomic research has led to conflicts between ethics and law, which have been the subject of consideration in the higher courts, including at the supranational structures level, in particular, the Council of Europe and the European Court of human rights. Nevertheless, it should be noted that despite all the laws imperfections, Russia is building its approach within the existing system of international standards that allow for the national uniqueness of the regulation in the relevant sphere.

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 5408-5415
Author(s):  
D. V. Ponomareva ◽  
S. V. Kosilkin ◽  
M. V. Nekoteneva

Modern science achievements contribute to the development of international and national ethical and legal approaches in the field of genome research while respecting human rights, ensuring safety, and maintaining the potential for scientific and technological progress. At the same time, there are no legal documents devoted exclusively to biomedicine and genomic research. This situation has led to the development of international standards either through the general principles of protecting human rights or through “soft law” norms. In addition, a significant regulatory gap exists caused by the lack of security measures in international jurisprudence. A similar trend occurs at the regional level. At the same time, in the framework of the Council of Europe, a single international treaty has been adopted that is directly devoted to bioethics and genomic research. The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine: Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine was adopted by the Council of Europe in April 1997 in Oviedo. The active development of biomedicine and genomic research caused conflicts between ethics and law. These issues became cases in highest judicial instances, including supranational structures, in particular, the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The ECHR influences Russia through the so-called “non-prohibitive practice.” Nevertheless, despite the law’s imperfections, Russia develops its own approach to the existing system of international standards that admit national uniqueness in this sphere. Despite attempts to restrict the influence of supranational judicial institutions on the Russian legal order in the middle of this decade, the practice of the ECHR as a source of Russian law influences the practice of Russian courts even in this sphere (Russian judges refer to the decisions of the ECHR).


Author(s):  
Crina Mihaela Verga ◽  
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The article defines first the concept of pilot decision. Then it details the procedure employed in case of systemic or systematic violations of any right provided by the European Convention on Human Rights. Some relevant pilot judgments against certain member states of the Council of Europe are highlighted. Next, two pilot judgments delivered against Romania (Maria Atanasiu and Others v. Romania and Rezmives and Others v. Romania) are thoroughly examined. Finally, some relevant opinions on the subject are expressed. The issue is very topical for the Romanian state and the specialists in the field, precisely because of the consequences determined by the two analyzed pilot judgments.


2005 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 318-326
Author(s):  
Taavi Annus

In the fourteen years since Estonia regained its independence in 1991, the Europeanisation of its legal, political and economic system has been rapid. Estonia became a member of the Council of Europe in May 1993 and has, thereafter, ratified most of its important international human rights conventions. Before becoming a member of the European Union in May 2004, a large-scale harmonisation of its laws with the EU standards has taken place. Two recent decisions by the Estonian Supreme Court, the subject of the present annotation, on the application of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) and the execution of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights illustrate the way in which European standards have become a part of the Estonian legal system.


Author(s):  
Oliver Lewis

This chapter presents an overview of the adjudicative bodies of the Council of Europe—namely, the European Court of Human Rights (established by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR)) and the European Committee of Social Rights—and outlines their mandates with regard to integrating UN human rights treaties. It analyses how these two bodies have cited the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The dataset was forty-five cases dealt with by the Court and two collective complaints decided by the Committee that cite the CRPD up to 2016. Notwithstanding the relatively small size of the dataset, the conclusions are that the Council of Europe system has yet to engage seriously in the CRPD’s jurisprudential opportunities. The reasons for this cannot be ascertained from a desk-based methodology, and further research is required.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Léon E Dijkman

Abstract Germany is one of few jurisdictions with a bifurcated patent system, under which infringement and validity of a patent are established in separate proceedings. Because validity proceedings normally take longer to conclude, it can occur that remedies for infringement are imposed before a decision on the patent’s validity is available. This phenomenon is colloquially known as the ‘injunction gap’ and has been the subject of increasing criticism over the past years. In this article, I examine the injunction gap from the perspective of the right to a fair trial enshrined in Art. 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. I find that the case law of the European Court of Human Rights interpreting this provision supports criticism of the injunction gap, because imposing infringement remedies with potentially far-reaching consequences before the validity of a patent has been established by a court of law arguably violates defendants’ right to be heard. Such reliance on the patent office’s grant decision is no longer warranted in the light of contemporary invalidation rates. I conclude that the proliferation of the injunction gap should be curbed by an approach to a stay of proceedings which is in line with the test for stays as formulated by Germany’s Federal Supreme Court. Under this test, courts should stay infringement proceedings until the Federal Patent Court or the EPO’s Board of Appeal have ruled on the validity of a patent whenever it is more likely than not that it will be invalidated.


ICL Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-69
Author(s):  
Eszter Polgári

AbstractThe present article maps the explicit references to the rule of law in the jurisprudence of the ECtHR by examining the judgments of the Grand Chamber and the Plenary Court. On the basis of the structured analysis it seeks to identify the constitutive elements of the Court’s rule of law concept and contrast it with the author’s working definition and the position of other Council of Europe organs. The review of the case-law indicates that the Court primarily associates the rule of law with access to court, judicial safeguards, legality and democracy, and it follows a moderately thick definition of the concept including formal, procedural and some substantive elements. The rule of law references are predominantly ancillary arguments giving weight to other Convention-based considerations and it is not applied as a self-standing standard.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-53
Author(s):  
Kaushik Paul

In recent years, the wearing of Islamic dress in public spaces and elsewhere has generated widespread controversy all over Europe. The wearing of the hijab and other Islamic veils has been the subject of adjudication before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on many occasions. The most recent case before the ECtHR as to the prohibition on wearing the hijab is Lachiri v Belgium. In this case, the ECtHR held that a prohibition on wearing the hijab in the courtroom constitutes an infringement of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which guarantees the right to freedom of religion or belief. From the perspective of religious freedom, the ruling of the Strasbourg Court in Lachiri is very significant for many reasons. The purpose of this comment is critically to analyse the ECtHR's decision in Lachiri from the standpoint of religious liberty.


2013 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-404
Author(s):  
Silvia Borelli

The undeniable impact of the European Convention on Human Rights on the legal systems – and the wider society – of Member States of the Council of Europe would not have been possible without its unique monitoring system, centred around the European Court of Human Rights and the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. The present article assesses the extent to which the European Court's judgments that have found violations of the procedural obligations under Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention to investigate unlawful killings, disappearances, acts of torture or other ill-treatment have, in fact, led to an improvement in the capability of the domestic legal systems of states parties to ensure accountability for such abuses. On the basis of four case studies, it is concluded that the European Court's judgments, coupled with the supervisory powers of the Committee of Ministers, have the potential to make a very great impact on the capability of domestic legal systems to deal with gross violations of fundamental human rights, and have led to clear and positive changes within the domestic legal systems of respondent states. Nevertheless, this is by no means always the case, and it is suggested that, in order for the Convention system to achieve its full potential in the most politically charged cases, the European Court should adopt a more proactive approach to its remedial powers by ordering specific remedial measures, to include in particular the opening or reopening of investigations.


2020 ◽  
pp. 7-25
Author(s):  
Marek Bielecki

The subject matter of the present paper is the analysis of particular normative solutions as well as the position of the judiciary and the interpretations of the doctrine in the scope of political freedom and rights that may be applied by a child. A child, as an entity equipped with the attribute of inherent and inalienable dignity, is a benefciary of the guarantees concerning the protection of human rights and freedoms proclaimed in both the national and international standards. Due to the existence of some objective obstacles such as age or developmental issues, certain rights cannot be fully applied by a child. While analyzing the indicated issues, the author of the study evaluates existing regulations as well as presents proposals for changes that could have a positive impact on children’s situation concerning the implementation of his/her political rights.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-228
Author(s):  
Stephanie E. Berry

The international human rights (ihr) and international minority rights (imr) regimes have very different origins. However, the two regimes converged in the 20th century, and imr are now understood to be a sub-regime of ihr. This article argues that the different historical origins of the two regimes impact how actors within each regime interpret their mission, and have resulted in institutional fragmentation within the Council of Europe. The mission of the European Court of Human Rights is the promotion and protection of democracy, whereas the Advisory Committee to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minority’s mission is the preservation of minority identity. In practice, this has led to conflicting interpretations of multi-sourced equivalent norms. It is suggested that inter-institutional dialogue provides an avenue through which these conflicting interpretations can be mediated.


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