Helsinki Declaration
Definition
The World Medical Association's statement on the ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects, first adopted 1964, last revised 2024. Requires ethics committee review, informed consent, and prioritisation of individual welfare over scientific or societal interest.
- Issuing body
- World Medical Association
- First adopted
- 1964
- Latest revision
- 2024
- Subject
- Ethics of human-subject medical research
- Requires
- Ethics committee review, informed consent
Common questions
How does the Helsinki Declaration relate to forensic medical research specifically?+
Forensic and medico-legal researchers conducting studies involving human subjects or their tissue, such as trauma pattern or toxicology research, are held to the same ethics-committee review and informed-consent requirements it sets out for medical research generally.
Is the Helsinki Declaration itself legally binding?+
No, it is a statement of ethical principles rather than a treaty, but it is widely incorporated into national research ethics regulations and institutional review board requirements, which gives it practical legal effect in most jurisdictions.
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