APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLE OF INFORMED CONSENT IN THE LIGHT OF LEGAL GUARDIANS

Abstract

The concept of the right to self-determination is an essential element
of the right to protection of physical integrity of every human being. In
the framework of the right to self-determination, the rights of patients
require the adoption of certain principles and their application in the
matters related to consent, i.e. consent to medical intervention. The
modern law insists on the right of the patient to decide whether to
undergo medical therapy, the type of therapy, and under what
circumstances, and to withdraw from the medical procedure at any time.1
The consent of the patient is a reflection of the respect of the autonomy
of the patients’ personality and their human dignity. From the legal point
of view, each medical intervention represents an invasion of the bodily
integrity, and if there is no valid consent, the medical intervention would
represent a legally impermissible action. With their consent, therefore,
the patients exclude the unlawfulness of such an action. Undergoing
medical therapy with valid consent is closely linked to the right of the
patient to information on all aspects of medical therapy, the condition of
their health, the risks and prospects of each procedure.2
Hence, in legal
practice and in jurisprudence, these two rights are commonly referred to
as informed consent. Although the legal validity of consent depends on
the level and quality of information to the patient, in some cases there is
a deviation from their union. Namely, in emergency procedures for the
purpose of the protection of life and health, sometimes the patient is not
informed or is superficially informed on the nature of the impending
intervention.