Disclosure of medical data to relatives after the patient's death: recent legal developments with respect to relatives' entitlements in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands the physician is still bound to professional confidentiality after the patient's death. However, in the legal doctrine and in case law some exceptions have been recognized, especially for circumstances where the relatives have a legitimate interest in the inspection of medical records of the deceased. Today developments as regards the Dutch proposal to new legislation on patients' rights, notably the proposed insertion of a provision stipulating the conditions under which the relatives have a right of access to medical records of the deceased, give cause for renewed consideration of this issue related to legal protection after death. This article explores whether the proposed provision corresponds to the prevailing principles regarding disclosure of medical data after death. It is concluded that there is a need to reconsider the provision's wording or to adhere to self-regulation of the Royal Dutch Medical Association in order to strike an appropriate balance between the various interests concerned.     

Human trafficking in the Netherlands: trends and recent developments

Notwithstanding the lift on the ban of brothels in the Netherlands during 2000, the introduction of the integral approach and other efforts to fight human trafficking; this trade still continues to exist within the licensed sector. Simultaneously, prostitution increasingly moved to Dutch cities with less strict regulations or control, and also to more invisible realms (escort services, internet). ICT facilitate this backstage informal sex work by offering a fluid, flexible, dynamic podium that is difficult to control. The internet is increasingly used by traffickers in order to recruit potential victims, to blackmail victims with images or by exploiting victims through webcam exposure. In 2005, human trafficking was extended in law towards exploitation in all labor sectors and, in 2011, illegal stay was criminalized in the Netherlands. This criminalization could hinder the fight against human traffickers.     

Recent developments in health law in the Netherlands

This article gives a few examples of recent developments in Dutch health law, namely equal access to health care, compulsory placement and treatment in a psychiatric hospital, and end of life decisions. They are outstanding examples of trends in health legislation that require to be followed closely.     

Autonomy and the competent patient's right to refuse life-prolonging medical treatment--again

This article discusses the recent decision of the Court of Appeal of the United Kingdom in Re B (Adult: Refusal of Medical Treatment) [2002] 2 All ER 449, which confirmed the common law right of a competent patient to refuse medical treatment, even though exercise of the right would (and later did) result in the patient's own death. Re B indicates that if a competent refusal is not respected, health professionals and hospitals face the prospect of awards of damages being made against them for unlawful trespass.