Conference workshop

The Law Centre for Health and Life is submitting a workshop proposal to the 9th conference of the European Association of Health Law. This conference will be held at Warsaw University, Poland from 18-20 September 2024. This in-person conference aims to bring together medical law scholars from across Europe to explore new challenges and institutional frontiers of health law from the perspective of fundamental rights. More information and registration here: https://fundamentalrights.wpia.uw.edu.pl.

Workshop Objectives 

This year we celebrate the 65^th birthday of the European Court of Human Rights. The Court was established in 1959 as part of the Council of Europe and served as the main guardian of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) ever since. While the ECHR does not directly mention health or healthcare, the Court has a long track record of influencing health across the European continent. First, Article 2 ECHR protects the right to life, which for example creates the obligation for States to enforce regulations to ensure that hospitals protect their patients’ lives. Second, Article 3 ECHR, the prohibition of degrading treatment, protects the patients’ integrity, by for example stipulating that medical care should in principle not be administered without the consent of the patient. Finally, Article 8 ECHR, the right to respect for private life, protects certain aspects of the patient’s private life, such as the confidentiality of medical data.  

The health-related judgments have had a significant impact on the protection of the rights of patients in EU Member States, as national laws were often changed in response to the Court’s rulings, for example regarding the rights of patients in involuntary psychiatric care. It is to be expected that the influence of the Court will only expand in the coming years. For example, its first rulings on climate change-related health threats are expected in 2024, and the surge in technological products will likely result in new rulings as well. In this workshop, we reflect upon the Court’s past influence, and we invite speakers to discuss the future undeniable influence on health law.  

Call for abstracts

We invite researchers in every career stage to submit an abstract for the LCHL workshop. Instructions:

• Max. 250 words

• Clearly state the link with the workshop objectives

• In-person presentation in Warsaw, 10 minutes

• E-mail to lchl@uva.nl before 10 April 2024

• Register separately for the European Association for Health Law Conference here: https://fundamentalrights.wpia.uw.edu.pl