Year of entry into force: 1999
Region: Europe
Legal Status: Intergovernmental - Legally Binding
Excerpts
Chapter I – General provisions
Article 1 – Purpose and object
Parties to this Convention shall protect the dignity and identity of all human beings and guarantee everyone, without discrimination, respect for their integrity and other rights and fundamental freedoms with regard to the application of biology and medicine.
Each Party shall take in its internal law the necessary measures to give effect to the provisions of this Convention.
Article 2 – Primacy of the human being
The interests and welfare of the human being shall prevail over the sole interest of society or science.
Article 3 – Equitable access to health care Parties, taking into account health needs and available resources, shall take appropriate measures with a view to providing, within their jurisdiction, equitable access to health care of appropriate quality.
Article 4 – Professional standards Any intervention in the health field, including research, must be carried out in accordance with relevant professional obligations and standards.
Chapter II – Consent
Article 5 – General rule
An intervention in the health field may only be carried out after the person concerned has given free and informed consent to it.
This person shall beforehand be given appropriate information as to the purpose and nature of the intervention as well as on its consequences and risks.
The person concerned may freely withdraw consent at any time.
Article 6 – Protection of persons not able to consent
1. Subject to Articles 17 and 20 below, an intervention may only be carried out on a person who does not have the capacity to consent, for his or her direct benefit.
2. Where, according to law, a minor does not have the capacity to consent to an intervention, the intervention may only be carried out with the authorisation of his or her representative or an authority or a person or body provided for by law.
The opinion of the minor shall be taken into consideration as an increasingly determining factor in proportion to his or her age and degree of maturity.
3. Where, according to law, an adult does not have the capacity to consent to an intervention because of a mental disability, a disease or for similar reasons, the intervention may only be carried out with the authorisation of his or her representative or an authority or a person or body provided for by law.
The individual concerned shall as far as possible take part in the authorisation procedure.
4. The representative, the authority, the person or the body mentioned in paragraphs 2 and 3 above shall be given, under the same conditions, the information referred to in Article 5.
5. The authorisation referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 above may be withdrawn at any time in the best interests of the person concerned.
Article 7 – Protection of persons who have a mental disorder
Subject to protective conditions prescribed by law, including supervisory, control and appeal procedures, a person who has a mental disorder of a serious nature may be subjected, without his or her consent, to an intervention aimed at treating his or her mental disorder only where, without such treatment, serious harm is likely to result to his or her health.
Article 8 – Emergency situation
When because of an emergency situation the appropriate consent cannot be obtained, any medically necessary intervention may be carried out immediately for the benefit of the health of the individual concerned.
Article 9 – Previously expressed wishes
The previously expressed wishes relating to a medical intervention by a patient who is not, at the time of the intervention, in a state to express his or her wishes shall be taken into account.
Chapter III – Private life and right to information
Article 10 – Private life and right to information
1. Everyone has the right to respect for private life in relation to information about his or her health.
2. Everyone is entitled to know any information collected about his or her health. However, the wishes of individuals not to be so informed shall be observed.
3. In exceptional cases, restrictions may be placed by law on the exercise of the rights contained in paragraph 2 in the interests of the patient.
Chapter IV – Human genome
Article 11 – Non-discrimination
Any form of discrimination against a person on grounds of his or her genetic heritage is prohibited.
Article 12 – Predictive genetic tests
Tests which are predictive of genetic diseases or which serve either to identify the subject as a carrier of a gene responsible for a disease or to detect a genetic predisposition or susceptibility to a disease may be performed only for health purposes or for scientific research linked to health purposes, and subject to appropriate genetic counselling.
Article 13 – Interventions on the human genome
An intervention seeking to modify the human genome may only be undertaken for preventive, diagnostic or therapeutic purposes and only if its aim is not to introduce any modification in the genome of any descendants.
Article 14 – Non-selection of sex
The use of techniques of medically assisted procreation shall not be allowed for the purpose of choosing a future child’s sex, except where serious hereditary sex-related disease is to be avoided.
Chapter V – Scientific research
Article 15 – General rule
Scientific research in the field of biology and medicine shall be carried out freely, subject to the provisions of this Convention and the other legal provisions ensuring the protection of the human being.
Article 16 – Protection of persons undergoing research
Research on a person may only be undertaken if all the following conditions are met:
i. there is no alternative of comparable effectiveness to research on humans;
ii. the risks which may be incurred by that person are not disproportionate to the potential benefits of the research;
iii. the research project has been approved by the competent body after independent examination of its scientific merit, including assessment of the importance of the aim of the research, and multidisciplinary review of its ethical acceptability;
iv. the persons undergoing research have been informed of their rights and the safeguards prescribed by law for their protection;
v. the necessary consent as provided for under Article 5 has been given expressly, specifically and is documented. Such consent may be freely withdrawn at any time.
Article 17 – Protection of persons not able to consent to research
1. Research on a person without the capacity to consent as stipulated in Article 5 may be undertaken only if all the following conditions are met:
i. the conditions laid down in Article 16, sub-paragraphs i to iv, are fulfilled;
ii. the results of the research have the potential to produce real and direct benefit to his or her health;
iii. research of comparable effectiveness cannot be carried out on individuals capable of giving consent;
iv. the necessary authorisation provided for under Article 6 has been given specifically and in writing; and
v. the person concerned does not object.
2. Exceptionally and under the protective conditions prescribed by law, where the research has not the potential to produce results of direct benefit to the health of the person concerned, such research may be authorised subject to the conditions laid down in paragraph 1, sub-paragraphs i, iii, iv and v above, and to the following additional conditions:
i. the research has the aim of contributing, through significant improvement in the scientific understanding of the individual’s condition, disease or disorder, to the ultimate attainment of results capable of conferring benefit to the person concerned or to other persons in the same age category or afflicted with the same disease or disorder or having the same condition;
ii. the research entails only minimal risk and minimal burden for the individual concerned.
Article 18 – Research on embryos in vitro
1. Where the law allows research on embryos in vitro, it shall ensure adequate protection of the embryo.
2. The creation of human embryos for research purposes is prohibited.
Chapter VI – Organ and tissue removal from living donors for transplantation purposes
Article 19 – General rule
1. Removal of organs or tissue from a living person for transplantation purposes may be carried out solely for the therapeutic benefit of the recipient and where there is no suitable organ or tissue available from a deceased person and no other alternative therapeutic method of comparable effectiveness.
2. The necessary consent as provided for under Article 5 must have been given expressly and specifically either in written form or before an official body.
Article 20 – Protection of persons not able to consent to organ removal
1. No organ or tissue removal may be carried out on a person who does not have the capacity to consent under Article 5.
2. Exceptionally and under the protective conditions prescribed by law, the removal of regenerative tissue from a person who does not have the capacity to consent may be authorised provided the following conditions are met:
i. there is no compatible donor available who has the capacity to consent;
ii. the recipient is a brother or sister of the donor;
iii. the donation must have the potential to be life-saving for the recipient;
iv. the authorisation provided for under paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 6 has been given specifically and in writing, in accordance with the law and with the approval of the competent body;
v. the potential donor concerned does not object.
Chapter VII – Prohibition of financial gain and disposal of a part of the human body
Article 21 – Prohibition of financial gain
The human body and its parts shall not, as such, give rise to financial gain.
Article 22 – Disposal of a removed part of the human body
When in the course of an intervention any part of a human body is removed, it may be stored and used for a purpose other than that for which it was removed, only if this is done in conformity with appropriate information and consent procedures.
Chapter VIII – Infringements of the provisions of the Convention
Article 23 – Infringement of the rights or principles
The Parties shall provide appropriate judicial protection to prevent or to put a stop to an unlawful infringement of the rights and principles set forth in this Convention at short notice.
Article 24 – Compensation for undue damage
The person who has suffered undue damage resulting from an intervention is entitled to fair compensation according to the conditions and procedures prescribed by law.
Article 25 – Sanctions
Parties shall provide for appropriate sanctions to be applied in the event of infringement of the provisions contained in this Convention.
Chapter IX – Relation between this Convention and other provisions
Article 26 – Restrictions on the exercise of the rights
1. No restrictions shall be placed on the exercise of the rights and protective provisions contained in this Convention other than such as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interest of public safety, for the prevention of crime, for the protection of public health or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.
2. The restrictions contemplated in the preceding paragraph may not be placed on Articles 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20 and 21.
Article 27 – Wider protection
None of the provisions of this Convention shall be interpreted as limiting or otherwise affecting the possibility for a Party to grant a wider measure of protection with regard to the application of biology and medicine than is stipulated in this Convention.
Chapter X – Public debate
Article 28 – Public debate
Parties to this Convention shall see to it that the fundamental questions raised by the developments of biology and medicine are the subject of appropriate public discussion in the light, in particular, of relevant medical, social, economic, ethical and legal implications, and that their possible application is made the subject of appropriate consultation.