Medical Law

Medical Law concerns the rights and duties of the medical profession and is thus directly linked to the field of medical ethics

Medical ethics

Medical ethics is a system of moral principles that apply values and judgments to the practice of medicine. As a scholarly discipline, medical ethics encompasses its practical application in clinical settings as well as work on its history, philosophy, theology, and sociology.-History:Historically,...

. [1]
Some consider medical law a scientific discipline [1] closely related to the advancement of health related technology over the last 50 years. Others link this field mainly to malpractice

Malpractice

In law, malpractice is a type of negligence in, which the professional under a duty to act, fails to follow generally accepted professional standards, and that breach of duty is the proximate cause of injury to a plaintiff who suffers harm...

 claims.
This growing field of academic research is also of very practical nature, as it pretains to real every-day situations in the hospital, in a clinical trial, and in many other health related settings.
The development of the field of medical law led to the establishment of Courses on medical law in various law schools, dentistry schools, medical schools, nursing schools etc. Also, some universities now offer LLM and even JSD

JSD

JSD is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, as described below:* Jensen-Shannon divergence* Jackson System Development* Doctor of Juridical Science* Joint Service Designation, For defence* Joint science department* Joint standard deviation...

 or PhD

PHD

PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 specializing in health law

Health law

Health Law is the federal, state, and local law, rules, regulations and other jurisprudence affecting the health care industry and their application to health care patients, providers and payors, and vendors to the health care industry, including without limitation the relationships among...

.
At same time, many countries have local organizations and associations of medical law

Medical law

Medical law is the branch of law which concerns the prerogatives and responsibilities of medical professionals and the rights of the patient. It should not be confused with medical jurisprudence, which is a branch of medicine, rather than a branch of law....

.

The World Association for Medical Law

The World Association for Medical Law (WAML) was formally established in 1970. It is a not-for profit organization, and according to its statutes, its purpose is to encourage the study and discussion of problems concerning health law, legal medicine and ethics, and their possible solution in ways that are beneficial to humanity and advancement of human rights.
The aim of the WAML is to promote the study of the consequences in jurisprudence, legislation and ethics of developments in medicine, health care and related sciences.[2]
Members of WAML are both individuals holding an academic degree and interested in the field and both local organizations and institutes dealing with medical law and health law from different countries in the world.

WAML structure

The Board of Governors (BoG) is a body of representatives from various countries. Each member of the BoG represents a different country and is elected at the General Assembly held during each World Congress.

The Council of Presidents (CoP) brings together leaders of national, regional and international organizations to exchange ideas and discuss issues that may prevail in a particular part of the world and for which others may be able to offer solution.

The Executive Committee (EC) is leading the association with the President, Vice president, Secretary General and Treasurer

World Congresses

Since its creation the WAML held 18 World Congresses for Medical Law, each time in a different country in the world [3]. Future World congresses will be held in 2012 in Maceio, Brazil [4] ; and in 2014 in Indonesia.
According to the statutes of the Association, A governor representing a certain country in the Board of Governors of the Association can submit a detailed proposal to host the World Congress in his country (it must be submitted at least four years before the World Congress actually takes place).

International Journal of Medicine and Law

The journal (in-chief editor:Dr. Mohammed Saif-Alden Wattad) is being published for its 30th year now. So far about 2,000 articles, written by hundreds of experts from more than 100 countries around the world have been published in it. The journal has been pronounced by the Kennedy Institute of Ethics as a "priority journal".[5]

WAML Radio - An online educational initiative

As part of an educational mission, the Association produces a radio program (Scientific advisor: Prof. Thomas Noguchi. Editor and Broadcaster: Adv. Oren Asman) with an international perspective pertaining to Medical Law, Legal Medicine and Bioethics

Bioethics

Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....

.
Interviews are held during major international congresses of WAML, or its collaborative organizations, covering a wide range of topics. The interviewees are from different states and countries, to provide with an international perspective. [6]
The program is available online, aiming to engage not only professionals of law and medicine but also the wider public in the ethical and legal deliberation regarding health, law and ethics.