The Development of Medical Criminal Law in Germany and in Russia

Abstract

Negative consequences of the actions of medical professionals have always been subject to controversial assessment from the legal standpoint. There were periods in Russian history when doctors were prosecuted even without establishing their guilt first, and the periods when doctors were not held responsible at all for the violations that they committed. Currently, medical and pharmaceutical work is a complicated process of performing professional functions connected with the observance of established standards and requirements of its organization. Most medical tests and manipulations of prevention, research, diagnostic, treatment or rehabilitation character are regulated by formal protocols which could, in some cases, prevent a qualified doctor from saving a patient’s life and in others — inflict forced harm on their health. Both of these situations require a legal assessment of the actions, the mechanism of which has not yet been fully determined. This circumstance could lead to a criminal prosecution of a medical professional whose fault is absent (or non-obvious). On the other hand, a structurally complex professional activity, for which there are no recognized methods of legal assessment, creates preconditions for various violations and abuses on the part of medical professionals. Changing relationships between a doctor and a patient, as well as the commercialization of modern medical practices have made the healthcare system one of the most delicto- and even criminally-oriented. These factors act as causes for the growing complexity of legislation (in the wide sense of the word) on criminal liability of medical professionals and the controversial law enforcement practice which, in its turn, leads to the interest of researchers in these problems. The results of such research often remain unconnected with other achievements of the criminal law science; due to this, it is necessary to study the development of law, including the practice of law enforcement and the doctrine, on criminal liability of medical professionals – medical criminal law. Taking into consideration that such a sub-branch of law is not traditional for Russian science, the authors present the results of researching the development of medical criminal law not only in Russia, but also in Germany, where this sphere of law has long been established as independent.