La liberté de la recherche en matière de bioéthique

For several years we have witnessed an acceleration in the rythm of the production of the norms concerning the use of the sciences and techniques, as well as norms that have become rapidly obsolete. This new rythm has been dictated by an evolution particular to the technical/scientific system. The activities of biomedical research are affected by this transformation, thus the question of a legal framework for the liberty of research in bioethics has arisen. The different procedures in public law, which are engaged during the process of the creation of the norms, just as the role of the institutions as in the Council of State and the Constitutional Council, the work of the Parliamentary Commission but equally that of the European and international institutions and ethic committees provide a framework for the liberty of research. The question of the instrumentalisation of the living is essential and the problems relative to the human embryo and its protection are crucial. The coherence of the law is questioned because of the cohabitation of the principles of protection for human dignity, the respect for the human being at the beginning of life and the liberty of research. The legality of harmful effects on the human body, which according to certain people are justified by being therapeutic objectives, poses the question of the legitimacy of making a legal decision and also questions the nature of the norms to be chosen. The problem of the consequences of the choice of these norms on the law and on the control of science on the human being appears between the lines. The examination of the pre-normative phase in national law is capital as is the comparative study of different foreign systems. The European Community and the international dimension permit equally to tackle the question of the liberty of research in bioethics in a context of globalisation, in research and economic interests. The definition of the creation of norms is thus conditioned by the political and economic balance of power and engenders a conflict of values, which poses the question of the signification of the law in a domaine where human dignity and the liberty of research are confronted, in other words, the fundamental rights and science.