The Conceptual Legal Structure of The Patient’s Right to Informed Consent

The Conceptual Legal Structure of The Patient’s Right to Informed Consent
Noelia Martínez-Doallo
European Journal of Health Law, 12 May 2022
Abstract
Informed consent has been inconsistently conceptualised as a right, an immunity or even a power in the hands of the patient, which leaves its legal definition as partially indefinite. From the norms of the CHRB, a legal theory stance and the proposals of celebrated authors — namely, W.N. Hohfeld, H. Kelsen and R. Alexy, I will provide a steady conceptual structure for the subjective legal positions of the parties involved in the healthcare relationship regarding informed consent.