The Right of Patient and Physician to Express their Religious Beliefs during Medical Treatment. Summary of the Doctoral Thesis
Authors:   ,   Rīga Stradiņš University, Šāberte Laura 
Published: April 2024

The doctoral thesis “The Right of Patient and Physician to Express their Religious Beliefs during Medical Treatment” is a scientific research, the objective of which is to study and analyse the legal framework identifying current legal problems when a capable adult patient and a certified physician, who is also the attending physician, have the right to express freedom of religion and its interaction with other rights in the field of healthcare, as well as to identify problems in the national legal framework and make proposals for improving the national legal acts. So far, no in-depth research has been carried out in the Republic of Latvia as regards the right of a capable adult patient and a certified physician, who is also the attending physician, to express freedom of religion. In the legal science of the Republic of Latvia, studies in the field of human rights have mostly been conducted on the right to freedom of religion. The conclusions and proposals made by the Author of the doctoral thesis for improving the national legal framework can be used in the development of legal thought, in the application and interpretation of the existing legal norms, and in the legislative process to improve legal acts. Consequently, the doctoral thesis can be of interest to the legislator, lawyers, patients, medical practitioners, educators and students, and other persons interested in obtaining in-depth information on the subject of the doctoral thesis. In the doctoral thesis, the Author examines the right of a capable adult patient and a certified physician, who is also the attending physician, to express freedom of religion and it’s interaction in medical treatment through the prism of the national legal framework, taking into account that the implementation of the right to freedom of religion in the Latvian legal system results from the State’s obligations in front of international obligations, which it has undertaken under Article 89 of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia. Article 89 of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia provides that State shall recognise and protect fundamental human rights in accordance with this Constitution, laws and international agreements binding on Latvia. Due to the limited scope of the doctoral thesis, the Author carries out an in-depth study of the sources of national law and on the study of external international obligations, which covers the sources of law at the level of the Council of Europe and the European Union. The doctoral thesis consists of an introduction, four chapters and a conclusion. Each chapter begins with an introductory section setting out the main issues addressed in that part, followed by the main body of the chapter. At the end of each part, intermediate conclusions are 5 drawn from the main body of the chapter, which form the basis for the conclusions and proposals at the end of the doctoral thesis. The introduction explains the relevance of the doctoral thesis, the research boundaries and problems, aims and the tasks, the research object and subject, the research questions, the research methods, the analytical approach to research, and information on the use of terminology and sources. In the first chapter, the Author examines what constitutional protection should be ensured regarding the right of a capable adult patient and a certified physician, who is also the attending physician, to express their religious beliefs, considering Latvia’s international obligations as enshrined in the legal sources of the Council of Europe and the European Union. In the second chapter, the Author examines what legal protection is provided to a capable adult patient regarding the right to express his or her religious beliefs in medical treatment, identifies problems in the national legal framework and makes proposals for its improvement. In the third chapter, the Author examines what legal protection exists for the right of a certified physician, who is also an attending physician, to express his or her religious beliefs in medical treatment, identifies problems in the national legal framework and makes proposals for its improvement. In the fourth chapter, the Author examines how the rights of a capable adult patient and a certified physician, who is also the attending physician, to express their religious beliefs are balanced. Considering the constitutional protections that are and should be provided, the author analyses whether the balance between the rights of a capable adult patient and a certified physician, who is also the attending physician, to express their religious beliefs is appropriate in the context of the individual’s right to self-determination and the right to the highest attainable standard of health. In the fourth chapter, the author also makes proposals for the improvement of the national legal framework. At the end of the doctoral thesis, conclusions are drawn and proposals put forward for the improvement of the national legal framework regarding the right of a capable adult patient and a certified physician, who is also the attending physician, to express freedom of religion in medical treatment. The doctoral thesis is accompanied by information on publications and reports on the subject of the doctoral thesis, the list of literature sources used, the acknowledgements, and two annexes: Annex 1 “Correspondence with the Department of Terminology and Translation of Legal Acts of the Latvian State Language Centre”; Annex 2 “The right of the patient, the 6 patient’s relatives and medical practitioners to receive spiritual care and right to perform religious activities in in-patient medical treatment institutions in the Republic of Latvia”. The Doctoral Thesis was developed at Rīga Stradiņš University, Latvia Defence: at the public session of the Promotion Council of Law on 24 April 2024 on 15.00 in the Hippocrates Lecture Theatre, 16 Dzirciema Street, Rīga Stradiņs University and remotely via online platform Zoom. 5.5 Law; Sub-Sector – Civil Rights. Keywords: attending physician; capable adult patient; certified doctor; freedom of thought; conscience and religion; medical law; patient’s right to express freedom of religion; physician’s right to express freedom of religion.