NUREMBERG CODE (1947)
NUREMBERG CODE (1947)
Presented by- Azher sharif, pharmd vth
year, st.pauls college of pharmacy
Presented to- C.S. Mujeeb Uddin, founder
& CEO clinosol pvt ltd, hyderabad
CONTENTS-
u Definition
u Introduction/History
of Nuremberg code
u Ten
points of Nuremberg code
DEFINITION-
u Nuremberg
code is a set of research ethics principles for human experimentation set as a
result of the subsequent Nuremberg trials at the end of the world war II.
HISTORY OF NUREMBERG CODE-
-The Nuremberg code is the most important
document in the history of the ethics of medical research, the code was
formulated 50years ago in August 1947, in Nuremberg, Germany, by the American
judges sitting in the judgment of Nazi doctors accused of conducting murderous
and torturous human experiments in their camps. This was called as ‘The
Doctor’s trial’
-Nuremberg code serves as a blue print for
today’s principles that ensures the rights of the subjects in the medical
research.
-The trial was conducted after the world
war II in the international military tribunal, this tribunal consisted of
judges of 4 different allied powers i.e. United states, Britain, France and the
Former soviet union who led the trials, and this were approved by the president
Harry Truman
-These all were charged for doing the
torturous trials on the war criminals.
-The trial began on December 9, 1946 and
ended on July 19, 1947.
-Later when the case was filed, it was
heard by 3judges (Dr. Andrew Ivy, Leo Alexander, Werner Leibbrand), 32
prosecution witness and 53 defense witness, including the 23 defendants
-Several of the accused argued that their
experiments differed from others, and even stated that there was no law that
differentiated between legal and illegal experiments.
-After listening to all the hearings, in
April 1947, Dr Alexander submitted a memorandum to the US outlining 6 points
for legitimate medical research.
-The Nuremberg code which stated explicit
voluntary consent from patients are required for the human experimentation was
drafted on august 9, 1947. On august 20, 1947 the judges delivered their
verdict against the 23 defendants.
-The verdict reiterated the memorandum's
points and, in response to the expert medical advisers, revised the original
six points to ten points.
-The trial involved a total of 23 doctors/defendants,
out of this 23, 16 doctors were found to be guilty, among them 7 were sentenced
to death by hanging, 5 to life imprisonment, 2 to imprisonment for 25years, 1
to imprisonment for 15years, and 1 to imprisonment for 10years, 7 were acquitted
The ten points of the Nuremberg Code-
The ten points of the code were given in
the section of the verdict entitled "Permissible Medical Experiments"
- The
voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential.
- The
experiment should be such as to yield fruitful results for the good of
society, unprocurable by other methods or means of study, and not random
and unnecessary in nature.
- The
experiment should be so designed and based on the results of animal
experimentation and a knowledge of the natural history of the disease or
other problem under study that the anticipated results will justify the
performance of the experiment.
- The
experiment should be so conducted as to avoid all unnecessary physical and
mental suffering and injury.
- No
experiment should be conducted where there is an a priori reason
to believe that death or disabling injury will occur; except, perhaps, in
those experiments where the experimental physicians also serve as
subjects.
- The
degree of risk to be taken should never exceed that determined by the
humanitarian importance of the problem to be solved by the experiment.
- Proper
preparations should be made and adequate facilities provided to protect
the experimental subject against even remote possibilities of injury,
disability, or death.
- The
experiment should be conducted only by scientifically qualified persons.
The highest degree of skill and care should be required through all stages
of the experiment of those who conduct or engage in the experiment.
- During
the course of the experiment the human subject should be at liberty to
bring the experiment to an end if he has reached the physical or mental
state where continuation of the experiment seems to him to be impossible.
- 10.During
the course of the experiment the scientist in charge must be prepared to
terminate the experiment at any stage, if he has probable cause to
believe, in the exercise of the good faith, superior skill and careful
judgment required of him that a continuation of the experiment is likely
to result in injury, disability, or death to the experimental subject.
REFERENCES-
- Evelyne Shuster, ‘Fifty years later: The
significance of the Nuremberg code’, The new England journal of medicine,
November 13, 1997; 337: 1436-1440
-
‘The Nuremberg code
(1947)’ , British medical journal, December 7, 1996 ;vol 313: 1448
-
https:
//en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Code
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