Directive

About: Directive is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 5695 publications have been published within this topic receiving 56084 citations.

Medical Research on Patients with Dementia – the Role of Advance Directives in European Legal Instruments

Abstract: Current international legal instruments recognise the use of advance directives to carry on the will of the dementing research participant beyond the boundaries of her present legal capacity Advance directives are gaining greater recognition in patient care than in medical research, where their legal status is still somewhat unclear In particular, the three major international documents on medical research - the Council of Europe Convention on Biomedicine and Human Rights (ETS 164), its Additional Protocol on Biomedical Research (ETS 195), and Directive 2001/20/EC on Clinical Trials on Medicinal Products--give conflicting messages on the legal status of advance directives in medical research This article examines the provisions in these documents and their national applications in Finland and the United Kingdom

Participating in end of life decisions. The role of general practitioners.

Abstract: BACKGROUND 'Advance directives' are instructions given by an individual regarding future health care decisions should they become incapacitated. AIM To explore the issues for GPs when introducing advance directives to their patients as a basis for further research into this process. METHOD Interviews with GPs before and after the introduction of advance directives to patients during a normal consultation. General practitioners, from two medical practices in South Australia, were asked to record demographic details, time taken, patient's reaction and information requested. RESULTS Five GPs introduced advance directives to 26 patients. The average age was 77 years. Six of the 26 patients completed an advance directive. The main issues identified when introducing advance directives were the time factor and difficulty in advising patients about the kinds of medical treatment they might want to record in advance. DISCUSSION General practitioners require time and information if they are to assist patients in the process of completing an advance directive. Further research and extensive public education are necessary to develop relevant strategies to encourage the use of advance directives if they are to be utilised to assist people to face death with some sense of control.

Psychiatric advance directives: potential challenges in India.

Abstract: The advance directive is a statement of an individual's preference for future treatment. The concept initially evolved in the context of end-of-life treatment decision making. Subsequently, in some countries, advance directives have been promoted in the care and treatment of people with serious mental disorders. They have recently been endorsed by the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disability. In India, the legal framework related to the care of persons with mental illness is currently being reappraised, and significant changes are being contemplated. Thus, this is an appropriate time to review the existing evidence on psychiatric advance directives and examine the potential challenges involved in making them legally binding. A wide spectrum of mental health 'advance statements' have been developed and implemented in some high-resource countries. Of special interest to mental health contexts is the complex Ulysses contract to accommodate situations where the advance directive can be overridden during phases of acute illness or relapse. There have been mixed experiences with advance directives in the last couple of decades and there is scant evidence to suggest that they are effective in improving actual care. There has been almost no discourse in India on the issue of mental health advance directives. Yet this feature is being considered for implementation in the revised legal framework for the care of persons with mental illness. There are significant barriers to the feasibility and acceptability of legally mandated advance directives. There are logistical barriers to operationalising them in a manner that guarantees quality assurance of the process, and minimises the possibility of misuse. Thus, while the advance directive is a highly desirable clinical tool for collaborative decision making between the person with mental illness and the treatment provider, at this time, more needs to be done before legal enforcement is considered in India.

All or nothing: this is the question? The application of article 3(2) Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC to the Internet

Abstract: The Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC (hereinafter the “Directive”) was passed in 1995 to harmonise the national data protection laws within the European Community with the aim of protecting the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals including their privacy as set out under Art. 1 of the Data Protection Directive. The rules governing the processing of personal data are deemed to be inapplicable in the two instances outlined by Art.3(2). Processing of personal data taking place as part of activities falling outside of Community law are excluded from the DPD. The Directive is also deemed to be inapplicable if the processing of personal data is undertaken by a natural person in the course of a purely personal or household activity. It is the second part of Art. 3(2), which is examined in more detail. The ruling by the European Court of Justice in Lindqvist provides us with a fresh opportunity to re-examine whether the policy justifications for the exclusion under Art 3(2) continue to remain relevant in the light of widespread use of new technologies such as blogs, podcasts and web pages for processing and distributing information. Greater clarity regarding the implication of new communication technologies for DPD policy is necessary if the laws on data protection are to evolve in a coherent and principled manner.

European Contract Law Reform and European Consumer Law – Two Related But Distinct Regimes

Abstract: The project to modernise the consumer acquis and the development of general contract law principles have become intertwined. The reasons for this are explained but it is argued that the two could and often should be kept separate. The proposal for a Consumer Rights Directive has become stalled due to a failure to agree on maximal harmonisation in key areas. The Commission instead sees an Optional Instrument as the engine for increasing cross-border sales through the creation of a 28th regime. In the consumer context this is seen as introducing maximal harmonisation through the backdoor by an Instrument that will not be truly optional for consumers who will be offered it on a take it or leave it basis. Instead a Truly Optional Instrument is proposed to be agreed upon my social dialogue. It would grant consumers a high level of protection and provide for online dispute resolution (ODR). This should address the traders real concern – that they will have to litigate in foreign jurisdictions – whilst not reducing consumer rights, but avoiding in most cases the need to refer to national law by providing simple rules and mechanisms for dealing with most consumer disputes which are often of a fairly straightforward nature. It also raises fewer competence issues.