Open AccessGenetic research and applicable law: the intra-EU conflict of laws as a regulatory challenge to cross-border genetic research
Author(s) -
Kärt Pormeister
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of law and the biosciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 18
ISSN - 2053-9711
DOI - 10.1093/jlb/lsy023
Subject(s) - discretion , context (archaeology) , data protection act 1998 , political science , dilemma , law and economics , law , general data protection regulation , member states , member state , business , european union , economics , international trade , biology , paleontology , philosophy , epistemology
EU law does not regulate genetic research per se , but the latter is governed to a certain extent by data protection law. Regardless of the harmonizing efforts of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), research regulations remain fragmented in the data protection framework. This is mainly due to the vast discretion granted to Member States in this regard in the GDPR. Albeit the GDPR enabling data flows for research cooperation in the EU, it creates a hurdle for cross-border research by ignoring the intra-EU conflict of laws that inevitably arises in a fragmented regulatory framework. Imagining ways to solve the dilemma of applicable national law under the GDPR generally is not that difficult, but becomes trickier in a research context. Whether the national data protection law of one or the other Member State is to be applied, either the interests of data subjects or those of researchers might end up compromised.