Property on bodily parts, dignity and sovereignty: Some comparative reflections on the English and Italian law of organ transplantations

Abstract

This paper aims at giving an account of the status quo of English and Italian law on the complex issue of the legal status of human biological materials, with particular reference to the regulation of organ transplantations. It will begin by arguing that a proprietary framework for bodily parts is not, as some maintain, necessarily incompatible with the respect of human dignity; it will then describe how the law “escapes” this hard issue by separately addressing specific questions rather than using a comprehensive approach; it will conclude by describing how comparative law can be useful to deconstruct existing legal categories and forge new ones.