Development of Bioethics in International Law as a Global Platform for Solving Human Rights Problems

Abstract

The development of bioethics as a new ethical direction, which arose as a result of scientific and technological progress in biology and medicine in the second half of the XX century and its further integration into the international legal order, including the area of human rights thanks to the leading role of UNESCO and the Council of Europe, is examined in the article. The importance of the 1997 Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine and the 2005 Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, which laid the foundations of bioethics as a component of international human rights law, was emphasized. The role of the soft law norms as an important source of international law for solving relevant bioethical issues, in particular related to human rights and biomedicine, has been researched. The purpose. The etymology and content of the concept of bioethics as a multidisciplinary ethical doctrine, which, depending on the context, can be interpreted in a narrow or broad sense, are disclosed. The narrow meaning concerns purely ethical dimension of bioethics as a sub-branch of ethics, which explores all ethical problems that arise in the context of life sciences, particularly in biology and medicine, and therefore proceeding from this position, bioethics is interpreted as a philosophical science (part of ethics). The transformation of ideas about bioethics occurred from the point of view of it as the science, which aims to identify certain priorities based on ethical values, that are closely related to biological facts, as well as to clarify or solve ethical issues that arise in the process of development and application of biomedical technologies, for example, in the context of «dual-use technologies» application. The origin of bioethics is often associated not only with moral philosophy, but also with medical ethics, including consideration of four basic principles of biomedical ethics: respect for human autonomy, harmlessness, charity, and justice. The analysis of the peculiarities of European bioethics formation is characterized by universalization of ethical principles, widening of the subject of bioethics from biomedical issues to the global problems of mankind, raising it to the level of metaethics and international biolaw. The formation of bioethical law took place on the basis of close relationship between ethics and law, as well as the development of bioethics in the law. Methodology. The study of the problems of the ethics of life has found its expression in bioethics, as a result of the evolution of which, certain conceptual approaches were formed: from the «science of survival» of all living things, through biomedical ethics) to European bioethics and biolaw. The general development and historical transformations of bioethics can be presented in the form of logical sequence: ethics – bioethics – bioethics in law – biolaw. Scientific novelty. It is argued that soft law has become an important source of international law for addressing pressing human rights issues, including bioethical issues related to biomedicine, environmental protection, etc. Conclusions. Bioethics, aimed at protection of the dignity of a person, his right to life and health, preservation of his physical and mental integrity, respect for his personal autonomy and many related rights, helps to maintain the necessary balance between ethics and law. It sets ethical restrictions on the development of science, referring to moral values that are the boundary between scientifically possible and ethically acceptable to human. The study of important ethical issues raised by bioethics allows at the level of international law to form the platform for large-scale dialogue between states and the gradual achievement of a global consensus in solution of bioethical problems and prevention of their negative consequences.

Keywords: ethics; law; bioethics; international law; human rights; bio-law; scientific and technical progress.