Launch of the free ‘HELP in the 28’ Course “Right to the integrity of the person (Bioethics)”

As a part of the Council of Europe’s (CoE) ‘HELP in the 28’ programme the new interactive and self-paced course on the “Right to the integrity of the person (Bioethics)” was launched.

The right to integrity of the person (RIOP) is based on what it means to be a person. Each person’s physical and mental space ought to be protected. Therefore, the RIOP is a very important aspect of bioethics. Bioethics refers to the protection of human rights in the field of biology and medicine.

The RIOP course faces the synergies and differences between the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (Oviedo Convention) . It also reviews the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union pointing out to problems such as medical interventions or removal of organs without consent, medically assisted procreation or end-of-life situations. The RIOP course was prepared by group of legal experts including Ronalds Rozkalns, a ttorney of law.

Funded by the EU, “HELP in the 28” is the largest training project within the EU on fundamental rights for judges, prosecutors and lawyers.

To access the course, it is necessary to set up a free account on the HELP system at: http://help.ppa.coe.int/login/. The course may then be accessed on the HELP website at: http://help.ppa.coe.int/course/view.php?id=812.