Socrates. 2021, 1 (19)

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Pacientu autonomijas krimināltiesiskā aizsardzība Latvijā: vai nepieciešama jauna norma Krimināllikumā?
(Rīga Stradiņš University, 2021) Lieljuksis, Aldis; Rīgas Stradiņa universitāte, Juridiskā fakultāte, Latvija
The article is a follow-up to the study on the protection of patients’ rights under the criminal law. The article examines the provisions of the Criminal Law which legislates liability of medical practitioners for medical treatment without the patient’s consent. Only Section 135 of the Criminal Law ‘expresis verbis’ provides for liability for abortion against the will of a pregnant woman. In other cases, liability may only arise in cases where at least moderate bodily injury has been caused during medical treatment. Court judgements do not address the issue of the informed consent, consequently, the factual situation is unclear. It should be noted that the legal framework differs from such European countries as Poland, Portugal and Liechtenstein, where criminal liability is imposed not only for the harm caused to the patient in healthcare, but also for treatment without the patient’s consent in situations where it was necessary because the fundamental rights have been unlawfully infringed. The author considers that the research should be continued by identifying experience of other countries and the actual situation prior to putting forward a recommendation to impose criminal liability under the Criminal Law.