Bio-medicolegal guidelines and protocols: survey and future perspectives in Europe

Abstract

The preservation of uniqueness and the enhancement of the value of evidence in legal medicine is based on the implementation and development of a "quality management system," which includes a continuous education of specialists, the introduction and application of guidelines and protocols, as well as mechanisms of internal quality control. This ongoing process shows differences with regard to various fields of knowledge such as forensic genetics, toxicology, forensic pathology or forensic psychiatry, especially if different European countries are compared. To get an overview on the development of legal medicine in different European countries, a questionnaire was developed and sent to representatives of 42 European countries to verify the existence of bio-medicolegal guidelines and protocols. A National Society of Legal Medicine is established in 27 out of 32 countries (84%) which could be included in the final analyses. In 25 countries (78%), a specialisation is necessary as a prerequisite of inclusion in a national register, and 30 of the countries (94%) have guidelines in at least one field of legal medicine. The most common guidelines concern forensic pathology (in the fields of professional qualification and sudden death), forensic toxicology (driving under the influence of drugs and substance testing) and forensic genetics (paternity testing and personal identification). The findings of this study show that comparison is possible and can be a basis for further consensus in the European medicolegal community. The process of harmonisation of the medicolegal autopsy rules in Europe initiated in 1990 was a first step on this way. Further consensus is necessary and might be gained by developing European guidelines for each field within the subdisciplines, based on a standard European Guideline Format.

Unitariness, evidence and quality in bio-medicolegal sciences

“…Survey and future perspectives in Europe" in the current issue of the International Journal of Legal Medicine [1]. The preliminary findings made in this study demonstrate that interdisciplinary synergy and a supranational perspective are adequate resources in the future preservation, development, innovation and unitariness of bio-medicolegal learning ... in step with post-modern times.…”

Bio-medicolegal scientific research in Europe: a comprehensive bibliometric overview

“…The loss of unitariness in bio-medicolegal knowledge is leading to a potentially irreversible fragmentation process, causing knowledge to crumble into a multitude of subdisciplines and specialties [1]. In this setting, all attempts to give a comprehensive picture of ongoing scientific research and innovation in the bio-medicolegal sciences have become complex and fraught with difficulties.…”

“…A preliminary analysis of the European picture was recently performed on the basis of National Guidelines and Protocols, which are the fruit of an interpretative synthesis of the scientific findings reported in the literature [1].…”

Bio-medicolegal scientific research in Europe. A country-based analysis

“…in this field [1][2][3]. In reflecting sometimes radical differences in national cultures and their juridical models [4,5], European heterogeneity expresses the specificity of subspecialised medicolegal competences, financial resources and the economic productivity of each country involved [6].…”