[The mission of the Committee for Personal Protection (CPP) in France: neither ethical, nor scientific?].
In France, research on human beings was first organized (and legally authorized) in 1988 by a law (so called Huriet-Séruclat). Since then, the specific mission of research ethics committees (RECs) has been heavily disputed. The legislator explained that the role of RECs is neither ethic nor scientific. It is << to control that the research protocol has been drafted according to the law >>. Of course, this is clearly at odds with the common practice of RECs in France and abroad as well. The assessment of the benefit/risk balance and of the << pertinence >> of the protocol cannot be achieved without a clear understanding of its scientific rationale. Origin of this French << cultural exception >> is to be found in the historic context of the elaboration of the law, back in the mid Eighties.
Lemaire
François
F
Service de réanimation médicale, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Créteil, France. francois.lemaire@hmn.ap-hop-paris.fr
D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005602:France; D006291:Health Policy; D006805:Human Experimentation / Q000941:ethics*; D006801:Humans; D026684:Personal Autonomy