ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the workings of Research Ethics Committees (RECs) in 11 European countries, and their effectiveness as ethical regulators. It focuses on the information provided by participant RECs in eight European countries. The chapter also examines the reasoning processes of RECs. The primary aims of RECs are two-fold, to protect the subjects of medical research, and to facilitate the furtherance of such research. The committees were given results from Euricon research which indicated that in the case of just over 70% of parents interviewed there was some doubt as to whether those parents had been competent to consent to their child’s participation in research. The Euricon research had suggested that the validity of the parental consent appeared especially questionable in research where time was short and their child was seriously ill. In light of this the committees were asked about their views on such research.
