Private-law definition of the concept and legal nature of human genetic information

Definición de derecho privado del concepto y naturaleza jurídica de la información genética humana

• Hanna Krushelnytska National Academy of Internal Affairs, Kyiv, Ukraine. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9934-6973

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46398/cuestpol.4176.23

Keywords: genetic information, genes and genome, privacy, personal data, private law

Abstract

The article explores the private law regime of human genetic information. To achieve the objective, an analysis of bibliographic sources in the field of genetic and genomic research, legal support for the circulation of genetic information and its legal protection was carried out. The document also analyses the provisions of the legislation and practice of the United States and the Member States of the European Union. General and specific methods of scientific knowledge, including dialectical methods, formal logic and comparative law, were used to solve the problems raised. The article clarifies the doctrinal and legal definitions of the concepts of “genome”  and “gene” of an individual. It points out the dual nature of the human gene as a material object: a DNA molecule, and also as a unit of hereditary information that is intangible in nature. The article explores the possibility of attributing genetic information to objects of civil rights, in particular material objects, intangible movable property and the results of intellectual activity. The conclusions support the need to distinguish between the concepts of genetic information and genomics. In addition, it reviews theoretical approaches to define the concept and nature of genetic information.

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