ECHR President to EU Parliament: 1st Historic Step on interpretating CoE BioEthics Treaty on 2020

*Strasbourg/Angelo Marcopolo/- Replying to Questions raised at an EU Parliament's Human Rights Committee's Exceptional Hearing, this Evening in Strasbourg, ECHR's President, Professor Linos-Alexander Sicilianos, from Greece, (Comp. President Sicilianos' statements to "Eurofora", f.ex. on the PanEuropean ReUnification's repercussions on Human Rights, at : ..., etc), Announced that, "for the 1st Time", Euro-Judges are due to Interpret and/or Follow up also CoE's landmark Convention on "Bio-Ethics" (1998), known as "Oviedo" Convention, somewhere in 2020, and Not Only its general Human Rights' Convention, to which it used to be limited until now, calling that Extension "a 1st Historic Step !"

Significantly, after a Brief Overview of ECHR's main "Successes and Challenges" Nowadays, where he had Already mentioned "BioEthics", but withOut developing, President Sicilianos chose, among a Long Series of various Topical Questions raised by MEPs, to "Start by the Beginning", as he stressed, Picking, at First, the observation, made by Luxembourg's MEP Isabel Wiseler-Lima, (who spoke on behalf of the Greatest Political Group, that of Christiandemocats/EPP), that, paradoxically, he had taken the initiative to initialy evoke "BioEthics", but withOut specifying yet, and invited him to Clarify what exactly he meant.

- "Issues about BioEthics" already raised at the ECHR, "are, indeed, Numerous", observed from the outset Alexander Sicilianos.

- F.ex., "we had Cases about the End of Life", "particularly in France, with the (Famous) Lambert affair" ; "we also had cases concerning Bio-Medicine" ; "as well as Medical Experiments" (Tests) ; "Consent to Medical Operations" ; "We also have Questions concerning <<Surrogate Mothers>>", f.ex., "Recently we gave a Consultative Opinion, on a Demand by the French Final Court of Appeals, which followed it compeletely, as an example of that "Dialogue" Mechanism (of Protocol 16th) allowing to the National Supreme Courts to Ask for ECHR's Views ; etc...

+ Moreover, "very Recently, we had a Demand from CoE's Committee on BioEthics" (an important InterGovernemental Experts' Body for PanEuropean Standards-setting), concerning the Interpretation of Article 7 of CoE's Convention on BioEthics, (known as "Oviedo" Treaty), "which raises very Delicate Issues", (about Protection of Persons suffering from Mental Disorders : something notoriously often abused by Oppressive Regimes and/or Corrupted Networks, in order to Muzzle Socio-Political Dissidents, Competitors, etc. A Sharp Contradiction exists Nowadays, Inside CoE and vis a vis many UNO ONG Actors, among those who Justify the use of Violence and/or Coertion against such Patients, under certain Conditons, and those who Exclude it, as a matter of Principle). The "Oviedo" Convention (1998) on Human Rights and Dignity of the Human being vis a vis Medicine and Biology, is an entirely Different Treaty from CoE's Convention for Human Rights, (that ECHR's Judges are due to Apply), even if, at least in Some Points, those 2 Different and Indepenent Texts, inevitably use partly Similar Approaches, in one way or another. ECHR had Never Before been pushed to Interpret Oviedo Treaty's BioEthical Law, (despite its Article 29, which allows to any Member State and/or to CoE's Committee on BioEthics to Ask for ECHR's Consultative Opinion, but had Not been used until Now).

=> So, "this will be a Great <<Première>> (a "Great First Night"), and "an Historic 1st Step !", ECHR's President appreciated, because of the UnPrecedented character of that New exercise.

- "Already Today ECHR's Committee of Rules met, precisely in order to Adopt New Rules for those New Activities, which would allow us, I Hope, during this Year (2020) to Adopt a <<Constructive>> Opinion on such Oviedo Convention's BioEthics Key-Points, "for the 1st Time", he eagerly announced.

However, naturally, the above-mentioned New Activity on "Interpretation" of Oviedo's BioEthical Treaty's Rules, should pay attention not to Change the ECHR's Method of "Live", UpDating Translation, (Comp. Supra), into a kind of indirect "Reform" of the 1998 Text, which might Risk to Weaken People's Protection, at one or another pretext, (considering also the Fact that the "Oviedo" Text had been Criticized, then, particularly by Germany and Cyprus, as having been adopted "Ad Minima")...

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+ "But, BioEthics are a "Rich" Area, which naturally touches also on our European Convention on Human Rights, particularly its Article 8 on Private/Family Life, and Also its Article 2, on Human Life : End or Beginning of Life" (i.e. Human Embryo), etc., Sicilianos reminded, in parallel, as far as the Full ECHR's Competence is concerned, (Comp. Supra).

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("Draft-Text")

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