Russian Legislation Development Prospects in the Field of Protection of Citizens’ Rights in Processing of Genetic Information (Private Law Outlook)

The European Union countries tend to ensure the protection of citizens’ rights when processing genetic information in such areas as healthcare, science, labor and insurance. In Russia, such protection of citizens’ rights is provided exclusively for the prevention, disclosure and investigation of crimes.

The results of the study show that genetic information is an element of objects of various constitutional human and civil rights (for example, the right to health, the right to privacy, personal dignity, etc.). Consequently, it can be the object of a complex of legal relations of various areas of law: constitutional, civil, labor, etc. In this regard, it is concluded that the protection of the rights of citizens in Russia in processing of genetic information in such areas as healthcare, science, labor and insurance should have a complex (intersectoral) character. At the same time, there is no need to adopt a general law that would ensure the appropriate protection of citizens’ rights in all these spheres of society. It is enough to make point changes to the laws regulating public relations on processing of genetic information within a particular sphere. The Federal Law «On Personal Data» should definitely take a central place among such laws. Its norms are of «cross-cutting» character and are subject to application to all public relations, one way or another related to the processing of genetic information.

In addition, there is a sphere of social life in Russia that is directly related to the processing of genetic information, but is not subject to legislative regulation. This is scientific research that uses biological samples of human origin. The authors of the paper, by analogy with the legislation of the European Union, propose to adopt a new Federal Law «On research of biological samples of human origin».

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