ABSTRACT
This chapter compares the attitudes of the different legal systems towards the protection of medical confidentiality to see which factors influence the scope of protection granted. With regard to the conflict between medical confidentiality, on the one hand, and the interests of justice in the context of criminal prosecution, on the other, all legal systems under examination have found a clear approach, at least in respect of the basic issues involved. The chapter also compares the different approaches to the resolution of various conflicts of interests in the context of crime prevention and criminal prosecution in order to develop more consistent and acceptable criteria for the resolution of these conflicts. An interesting question is whether or not it is possible to identify fundamental differences in approach between common law and civil law systems. It was mentioned that both common law and civil law countries broadly achieve the same results when it comes to the protection of medical confidentiality as such.
