Medical Law in Belgium: A Comprehensive Guide. Exploring the Unique Characteristics of Belgian

Belgium plays a pioneering role in health law: it has extensive, forward-looking health legislation, which has resulted in a great deal of case law. This case law and the very active legal doctrine on health law are brought together in the bilingual Journal on Health Law. There is also a comprehensive standard work in Dutch, the Handbook on Health Law. Not only does Belgium have extensive legislation on health law, that legislation is also quite unique and progressive. This book therefore focuses on: the Belgian Law on euthanasia, the Abortion Law, the Law on Embryo Research, medically assisted fertility treatments, informed consent, professional confidentiality, medical records, GDPR, the right to complain, medical liability and the Belgian Law on Medical Accidents, minors and patients with mental illness, organ transplantation and medical experiments, and hospital legislation. Each chapter concludes with a summary setting out what makes Belgian law unique. This volume seeks to enhance the accessibility of Belgian health law for an international audience. Moving beyond a purely descriptive account of legislation, it offers a comprehensive analysis of the 'living law' as applied within the courts. Thierry Vansweevelt is a professor at the University of Antwerp where he teaches the modules ‘Liability Law and Risk Insurance’ and ‘Health Law’. His PhD thesis ‘The Liability of Doctors and Hospitals’ was awarded the prestigious Fernand Collin Prize and he received the University of Antwerp Research Council Prize for his entire body of work. He is a partner at the law firm Dewallens & partners. He is also editor-in-chief of the bilingual Journal of Health Law and editor of the Handbook on Belgian Health Law (with Filip Dewallens). He is the first lawyer to be appointed a member of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium. He is also President of the World Association for Medical Law. Filip Dewallens is a professor at the University of Antwerp and at KU Leuven where he teaches Health law and Governance of healthcare institutions. His academic work is complemented by significant governance experience, having served on hospital boards and as an independent member of the Board of KU Leuven. He is the founder of Dewallens & partners, a Belgian law firm recognised for its expertise in health law. At the international level, he has undertaken assignments for the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Council of Europe. He has an extensive scholarly publication record and is co-editor of the Handbook on Belgian Health Law (with Thierry Vansweevelt). Filip is the current president of the Belgian Health Law Association.