CYIL vol. 8 (2017)

CYIL 8 ȍ2017Ȏ REFLECTIONS OF ETHICAL DEBATE IN THE INTERNATIONAL LAW REGULATION … Quite similarly to the ECtHR case-law, the Convention on Biomedicine deals with the complex and extremely controversial questions very cautiously. This approach can be criticised for leading to very vague regulation. However, it makes the Convention on Biomedicine a framework instrument capable of assuring minimum common standards which will be respected in practice in various European countries with very diverging moral positions 57 . 58 The States are obliged to take into their internal law the measures necessary to give effect to the provisions of this Convention. According to Article 20 of the Explanatory Report to the Convention on Biomedicine (hereinafter „ Explanatory Report “), this “may be achieved either by applying directly the Convention’s provisions in domestic law or by enacting the necessary legislation to give effect to them” . Obviously, only a minority of the Convention on Biomedicine provisions – those which directly establish rights and duties of individuals – can be applied directly. 59 According to some authors, 60 the greatest weakness of the Convention on Biomedicine lies in the fact that the rights it establishes are not protected by the ECtHR. However, the prestige of the Council of Europe and the Convention on Biomedicine itself guarantee a relatively high level of certainty that its provisions will not be violated. The Preamble of the Convention on Biomedicine explicitly refers to six international conventions, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the International Covenants from 1966. A special relation connects the Convention on Biomedicine with the European Convention on Human Rights. 61 The Preamble further stresses “that progress in biology and medicine should be used for the benefit of present and future generations” and highlights the importance of human dignity. According to the Explanatory Report, the concept of human dignity “constitutes the essential value to be upheld” and represents “the basis of most of the values emphasised in the Convention” . 62 From the ethical perspective, it is 57 For an insight into the variety of legislative approaches to stem cell research among European countries, see for example ISASI, Rosario M., KNOPPERS, Bartha M., Towards Commonality? Policy Approaches to Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research in Europe. In PLOMER, Aurora, TORREMANS, Paul (eds.), Embryonic Stem Cell Patents. European Law and Ethics. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2009, p. 29-56. KUŘE, Josef, Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research in Central and Eastern Europe: A Comparative Analysis of Regulatory and Policy Approaches. In ibid. , p. 57-84, or ŠOLC, Martin, Právní aspekty výzkumu lidských kmenových buněk. In ŠUSTEK, Petr, HOLČAPEK, Tomáš (eds.), Zdravotnické právo. Wolters Kluwer, Praha 2016, p. 742-744. DOLEŽAL, Tomáš, Právní regulace využití lidských embryonálních kmenových buněk. In ČERNÝ, David, DOLEŽAL, Adam (eds.), Etické a právní aspekty výzkumu kmenových buněk. Ústav státu a práva AV ČR, Praha 2013, p. 53-58. 58 ANDORNO, Roberto, The Oviedo Convention: A European Legal Framework at the Intersection of Human Rights and Health Law. Journal of International Biotechnology Law. (De Gruyter Recht, New York 2005, Vol. 2, No. 4), p. 134-135. accessed 8 April 2017. 59 See ŠUSTEK, Petr, HOLČAPEK, Tomáš. Informovaný souhlas. Teorie a praxe informovaného souhlasu ve zdravot- nictví . (ASPI, Praha 2007), p. 199. 60 See ANDORNO, Roberto, The Oviedo Convention: A European Legal Framework at the Intersection of Human Rights and Health Law. Journal of International Biotechnology Law. (De Gruyter Recht, New York 2005, Vol. 2, No. 4), p. 136. accessed 8 April 2017. 61 According to the Explanatory Report, the European Convention on Biomedicine “ elaborates some of the principles enshrined in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights” . 62 Article 9 of the Explanatory Report.

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