ISSN: 2691-5774
Authors: Bara J and Bara B*
The principle of self-determination is prominently embodied in Article I of the Charter of the United Nations. The principle was incorporated into the 1941 Atlantic Charter and the Dumbarton Oaks proposals which evolved into the United Nations Charter. Essentially, the right to self-determination is the right of a people to determine their own destiny. Such principle allows a people to choose their own political status and to determine their own form of economic, cultural and social development in medical law, the right to self-determination is strictly connected with the autonomy of the patient, which places as the center stone the respect for competent decisions by adult patients and the right of the people to decide over their own bodies. Bodily integrity in courts' jurisprudence all over the world has been applied to wide range of human rights violations such as physical violence, ranging from corporal punishment to forced medical treatment, abortion, end of life decisions, etc. But when it comes to self-determination in medical cases, how free are we really, as individuals, to decide over our own bodies? This article aims to answer this question through courts' case law on different aspects of patient autonomy, bodily integrity and the right to self-determination.
Keywords: Self-Determination; Autonomy; Bodily Integrity; Rights; Case-Law
