ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on three of the principal issues associated with the concept of personal autonomy: the gap between the principle of autonomy and its implementation; what constitutes free and informed consent; and whether the principle of personal autonomy supports an individual’s voluntary renunciation of the rights and freedoms guaranteed by law. The author also ventures a view on a fourth issue, namely, whether the principle of personal autonomy can effectively serve as a coordinating mechanism in plural legal societies. The author concludes that autonomy does serve this role in practice, but could be made to do it more effectively.
