[Legal binding character of guidelines]

Guidelines as recommendations by the medical associations concerning the diagnosis and treatment of certain diseases do not have the character of judicial norms. However, they may have an impact on decision-making in court. Within social security insurance law, and especially in medical malpractice litigation, the medical standard has become a legal term. As far as statements in guidelines render the actual standard as affirmed, the more binding is their character with respect to judicial questions. This article deals with this interplay between medical quality assurance and the legal demands on medical action. As a basis for discussion of this issue the relevant jurisdiction will be represented. Its impact on the guidelines for child and adolescent psychiatry will be pointed out as a concrete example.