Law and Human Genetics: Regulating a Revolution

Description

As developments in human genetics proceed apace,the regulation of genetic research and its applications is set to represent one of the major legal challenges of the next century. At every turn - in the fields of medicine and commerce, in insurance and employment, in the family and even in the criminal justice system - advances in human genetics threaten to transform our understanding of ourselves and the basis upon which we relate to one another. This special issue of the Modern Law Review addresses a range of key issues - conceptual, ethical, political and practical - arising from the regulatory challenge confronting the law in the face of the genetic revolution.

Roger Brownsword is Professor of English Law at King's College London. W.R.Cornish is Professor of English Law at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Magdalene College.

Perhaps the greatest value of this collection is that, in addition to outlining the possibilities and dangers attaching to the genetic revolution, the most thought-provoking contributions - especially those by Black, Pottage and Wells - prompt reflection on the need to re-think the core organizing concepts of legal doctrine. -- Marie Fox * Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law * ...a book to be turned back to in five years time, to check on how the predictions have been fulfilled. -- Mary Warnock * Times Higher Education Supplement * [a] fascinating collection of essays. -- Margaret Brazier * Child and Family Law Quarterly * This book will be of interest to readers who want to be brought up to speed on the current controversies in genetics and law who are interested in the process of using law to regulate science and technology. -- Graeme T. Laurie * Journal of the Law Society of Scotland * ...a good starting point for analysis and debateit efficiently examines current regulatory practicea useful addition to a university library bookshelf. -- Ray Purdy * Journal of Environmental Law *