ABSTRACT
The research ethics committees (RECs) in Germany have developed into a stable and recognized integral part within the system of medical research on human subjects. When the German Research Foundation established a new medical research programme in 1972 it required the introduction of a corresponding REC. The decisive point for the development of RECs in Germany, however, was the re-wording of the Declaration of Helsinki by the World Medical Association in 1975, which made the conduct of research involving human subjects conditional on prior consultation by an independent body. According to the concurring views of many commentators, RECs in Germany will develop over the next few years into strong controlling mechanisms capable of effective safeguarding. The patchwork of RECs which has developed in Germany is likely soon therefore to be made the object of more systematic study. The Select Committee would be well advised to make the emerging legal regime of RECs a major subject on its agenda.
