[From genetics to law, the jurist's point of view]

ONE MUST BEAR: In mind that science is not always beneficial for mankind. The primary objective of ethics must therefore be to awaken cause for concern, and a second objective should measure the stakes. Scientific texts do not always have to be adapted to scientific reality, since all progress does not necessarily require expression in terms of law. Law can be limited, with loopholes creating the well-known 'gap'. WITH GENETICS: Care must be taken in avoiding the free and wide use of genetic technology. Three principles must be applied: the refusal of eugenics, the non-use of the human body as a patrimony, and patients must give their informed consent. BIOETHICAL TEXTS: Cover the more selective applications of genetics: genetic fingerprints and the unresolved question of the status of the human body after death. Genetic diagnosis is distinctive. Genetic tests do not provide the certainty of a risk but its probability; and the results obtained also provide information on the family circle. Genetics reveal the identity of the human being. ACCORDING TO THE OVIEDO CONVENTION: (April 1997), the primary provisions concerning the ethical and legal protective measures with regard to genetics are as follows: the genetic heritage cannot be a factor of discrimination; genetic tests are qualified as predictive; the aim of interventions on the human genome can only preventive, diagnostic or therapeutic, and cannot be aimed at introducing a modification in the genome of descendants.