ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a description of the legal and ethical sources of the right to confidentiality. The grounds for the doctor's duty of confidentiality are set in the areas of medical law and medical ethics. Accepting that medical confidentiality should be qualified revives the liberal-communitarian debate about the perception of an individual's identity with its constant tension between the sense of being separate and the sense of belonging. Confidentiality in the area of genetics yielded several reports. The Council's view manifests itself when examining the doctor's duty of confidentiality. First, the Council recommends that in the area of genetics medical confidentiality should be protected 'as far as possible'. Second, it justifies breach of confidentiality without the patient's consent only in exceptional circumstances. To conclude, the law limits the possibilities of relatives receiving genetic information even in the narrow context of physical harm as numerous genetic diseases have no effective treatment.
