The HES-code and the data protection during COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey

Mobile applications are a beneficial tool to fight the coronavirus. With the mobile tracing applications, it became easier to cut the chain of transmission of the virus and reduce the number of daily cases. Many countries developed their applications and made them available to their citizens. While using these applications, it is necessary to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual. This frequent processing of individuals' health data has created legal problems regarding the protection of personal data. The purpose of this paper is to present a study on the Turkish Covid-19 tracing application “Hayat Eve Sığar-HES” and the legal issues behind the application.

Along the Italian route of End-of-life: the latest judicial evolution on assisted suicide

In the last three decades, the dilemma of End-of-Life is one of the most disputed bio-juridical questions Italy is confronting with. By raising highly sensitive ethical, legal and political dilemmas, it has deeply divided the Italian society, the scientific community and the political arena. In the context of a raging controversy, the Italian Parliament has opted for silence. Thus, an evolutive, judicial route has marked the legal frame in response to numerous, concrete demands of recognition of the freedom of self-determination and value of dignity in the final phase of life. In this review article, an overview of the judicial evolution of the complex mosaic of end-of-life issues will be firstly offered through three cases, pillars on which the latest judicial evolution on assisted suicide lays its foundations. Secondly, the issue of assisted suicide will be singularly addressed through the examination of the Cappato case which has outlined the path for the historical ruling of the Italian Constitutional Court, no'242 of 2019 on the constitutional illegitimacy of the crime of assistance to suicide under article 580 of the Italian Criminal Code. Precisely, the Court has pointed out several, concurrent requirements in presence of which an active conduct directly connected with suicide is not criminally relevant: the autonomous and free formation of the individual will, the irreversible nature of the disease, the ongoing practice of a life-saving treatment, the intolerability of the physical or psychological sufferings and the mental capacity to self-determination. Among the numerous, emerging, interpretative questions, the latest Trentini case, in which the requirement of life-saving treatment has been interpreted as inclusive of pharmacological therapy and of every material, sanitary life-saving assistance, will be further evaluated. Conclusively, a cross section of the fragile interplay between the legislative power and the judiciary power will be depicted in reference to the main open interpretative questions related to the enforcement of the constitutional ruling and a portrait of the upcoming scenerios, as the existing legislative drafts and the prepositive referendum question, will be concisely examined.

Genetic interventions, inequalities and the role of the state

A central issue in the ethical public debate on genetic enhancement concerns the inequalities in skills, opportunities and welfare that might be created and established between rich and poor. Many argue that if only the wealthy can have access to enhancements, then existing unjust inequalities will be consolidated and new ones will emerge in the future. Therefore, they argue, state has a role to play against the exacerbating of existing inequalities and the emergence of future ones and determine a genetic policy that will regulate a fair distribution of genetic means under specific principles of justice. This article has two main sections. In the first and shorter section, I examine a case where access to enhancement would be unlimited for everyone. In the second and longer section, I examine the principles that a state should adopt in order to treat the unjust inequalities that could result from limited access to enhancement. Finally, I outline part of my own approach to a just genetic state policy.

Η βιοτρομοκρατία και η σύγχρονη αναγκαιότητα της βιοάμυνας

Introduction: Scientific progress has considerably increased the risk of unexpected bioterrorist attacks. In accordance comes the necessity for a potent “shield” of protection, known as “biosecurity” and widely referred as “biodefense”. However, ethical challenges and concerns, arising along with bioterrorism, are inevitable to address.Methods: COVID-19 outbreak immerged the significance of preexisting powerful biodefense systems. Primary factors to consider are theirs efficacy, the availability of capable emergency plans, adequate personal protective equipment, and sufficient funding. Least but not last comes the proper comprehension of risk assessment and the promotion of prevention, which contributes fundamentally in avoiding the outbreak, even before the harmful biological agent has begun spreading itself among the community.Results: Meticulous data recording will promote our knowledge of effectively constructive biodefense systems and will contribute in identifying crucial bioethical issues, as well to legislate accordingly, nationally, and internationally, in order to duly address the emerging threats. Conclusion: Drastic measures against bioterrorism are inevitable to take, so is the foundation of sufficient biodefense systems, which should lay on scientific knowledge that drives from relevant research, and general consent. Ultimately is, the establishment of international laws, to propel collaboration among nations and eliminate future bioterrorist attacks.

Review of the current and post-Brexit UK legal framework on the regulation of genetic technologies

The launch of a nationwide consultation in January 2021 by the UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on the regulation of genetic technologies has been used as an opportunity by the UK Government to gauge public and scientific opinion on the applications of gene editing in agriculture and aquaculture. In particular, the consultation sought to consider the controversial question of whether gene editing (GE) should be subject to the same regulations as genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The distinction between GE and GMO products, as well as between the legal regulations governing them, are highly important: currently, the UK still follows the EU’s restrictive approach, whereby gene editing is regulated in the same way as GMOs. However, in light of the UK’s departure from the EU, the UK government seems willing to reconsider this approach and adopt a new regulatory framework characterised by less stringent controls. Accordingly, this review paper examines the current legal framework on gene editing and GMOs in the UK and EU, as well as in other relevant jurisdictions, before then examining the Defra consultation in light of the mixed responses to it from both the scientific community and the general public. The paper concludes with a number of considerations that should inform any proposed post-Brexit reform of the framework that allows for the correct balance to be struck between scientific development, food security, human health, and the environment.

Lie detection in the brain - Moral, social, legal and religious challenges

Lie detection and recognition has been an ardent human desire since ancient times. Over the centuries, various methods have been devised to detect fraud. Some methods are low-tech, like the recognition of specialized facial expressions, while others use devices, such as the polygraph or "lie detector" designed in the early 20th century, which measure changes in human body like sweating, heart rate and blood pressure, in order to detect the lie. These methods have various applications in areas such as justice, the military and the secret services. Recent attempts to detect falsehood have focused on measuring brain activity. This approach, unlike previous emotional arousal methods, detects physiological changes associated with cognitive processes during deception and therefore, according to the proponents of the technique, could detect the process of deception itself. The most well-known method of detecting a "neurophysiological difference between deception and truth" in the brain is functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), an MRI brain scan which reveals that deception is located in the prefrontal cortex, just behind the forehead.However, how accurate and reliable are these “brain mapping” approaches to detect lies? What are the moral, legal, religious and social issues arising from the “invasion” of so-called neuroscience into personal data, individual freedom, and the right of non-self-incrimination and the "free will" of human beings? Critical questions, addressed in this paper, in an attempt to approach lie detection in the brain and the challenges - concerns that may determine the way we perceive human society in the future.

Surrogacy in France: A summary of the situation

Since the first law on bioethics in France in 1994, surrogacy is prohibited. With the liberalization of our society, some occidental countries accepted surrogacy under a specific legal framework. Still, France did not bend to this and always stated that surrogacy must be forbidden. However, with globalization, that facilitates fertility tourism across Europe and even further, France faced an issue with intended parents traveling abroad to have surrogacy and went back to France with children having uncertain civil status. The French legislation has been modified, taking into account all the issues that may arise. Sometimes France took the relevant initiative, but in other cases, the legal developments resulted from the pressure of international institutions. The purpose of this paper is to present a short and concise overview of the state of surrogacy in France and the steps which led to the current situation.

Η μάταιη θεραπεία (futile treatment): Ιατρική και θεολογική προσέγγιση

This is a medical and theological approach of Futile Treatment, an issue that raises severe medical and bioethical dilemmas. We discuss the difficulties in establishing objective criteria to discontinue treatment and present the theological views on the subject with emphasis to orthodox theology. This paper aims to contribute to the subject and also rise a debate in Greece.

AI and the Healthcare sector: Industry, legal and ethical issues

In this modern era, AI systems, robotics and all kinds of technological innovations have prevailed in almost every industry there is. Even though, they provide with several advantages and benefits, such novelties, due to their newly found capacities pose a certain undoubted risk for contemporary societies, unfamiliar yet with the full extent of the perils following these kind of innovations.This article engages in an examination of one of the industries critically changed and influenceδ by AI technology, the healthcare industry, as it possesses the highest bioethical interest. The article, thus, is divided to four sections. The first is dedicated to novel advancements in the field of health care services and medicine, which include the introduction and/or full deployment of machine learning and robotics. Second, as already mentioned due to the fact that these technologies are accompanied by legal concerns, especially in terms of privacy, a legal analysis of the most relevant and prominent concerns is attempted. The emphasis is given on the European Union’s approach on the matter of AI related technology. Both its main bodies are mentioned, the European Parliament and the European Commission, for their procurement of documents related to novel technologies.In addition, after the legal framework analysis and the more binding in nature legislative efforts, the article proceeds with the presentation of the soft-law related to the AI technological field, as well as the ethics and guidelines developed to mitigate its risks and issues. Lastly, the following analysis is closed by conclusions based on the combination of remarks and resolutions from the above mentioned sections of the article.