Bioethical Guidelines: A "Global" Overview

Abstract «The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely necessary». The first sentence of the Nuremberg Code still builds the fundamental bulwark of the Ethics of Biomedical Research. Nonetheless, later declarations, codes and guidelines have deepened and widened this imperative of respect for autonomy and self-determination, either pointing at the conditions required for an actually free and informed consent or linking it to the more comprehensive scope of human rights. This short paper explores these concepts.