Bioethical and Criminal Law Responses to the Specificity of the Criminal Offense of Trafficking in Parts of Human Body Cover Image

Bioetički i kaznenopravni odgovori na specifičnosti kaznenog djela trgovanja dijelovima ljudskog tijela
Bioethical and Criminal Law Responses to the Specificity of the Criminal Offense of Trafficking in Parts of Human Body

Author(s): Ana Jeličić, Nevena Aljinović
Subject(s): Criminal Law, Ethics / Practical Philosophy, Criminology
Published by: Hrvatsko Filozofsko Društvo
Keywords: human trafficking; human organ trafficking; transplantation; bioethics; legal regulations;

Summary/Abstract: Trafficking in human body parts is one of the most severe form of crime in modern times. The topicality of this phenomenon reinforces the fact that it is intertwined with organised crime and human despair. The resulting repercussions are dangerous for the “donor”, prosperous for the “intermediaries”, and vital for the “recipient”. The paper analyses the phenomenon of trafficking in human body parts, which is directly related to the development of transplant medicine and surgery. Human organ transplantation is moving toward indicative ethics, as ethics of responsibility, and is gradually moving beyond imperative ethics, emphasising duty. Human organ donation is an act of self-sacrifice. Therefore, from an ethical and moral perspective, the commercialization or trafficking of human organs is unacceptable because it violates human dignity. In addition to the ethical implications, the paper analyses international documents on this topic and the Croatian normative regulations on this issue. Finally, bioethical and criminal law answers to this question are given.

  • Issue Year: 42/2022
  • Issue No: 01/165
  • Page Range: 7-33
  • Page Count: 27
  • Language: Croatian
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