Bioethics, Medicine and the Criminal Law Medicine, Crime and Society

In recent years, debates have arisen concerning the encroachment of the criminal process in regulating fatal medical error, the implementation of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 and the recent release of the Director of Public Prosecution's assisted suicide policy. Consequently, questions have been raised regarding the extent to which such intervention helps, or if it in fact hinders, the sustained development of medical practice. In this collection, Danielle Griffiths and Andrew Sanders explore the operation of the criminal process in healthcare in the UK as well as in other jurisdictions, including the USA, Australia, New Zealand, France and the Netherlands. Using evidence from previous cases alongside empirical data, each essay engages the reader with the debate surrounding what the appropriate role of the criminal process in healthcare should be and aims to clarify and shape policy and legislation in this under-researched area.

• Socio-legal analysis of the role of the criminal process in health care practice helps reader to engage with the debates concerning its role

• Uses empirical data and analysis of past cases to explore the factors that influence the decision-making process among law enforcement officials in health care cases

• Comparative analysis covers multiple jurisdictions, including the UK, New Zealand, Australia, France, the Netherlands and the USA