[Definition and scope of medical professional law]

Medical professional law can be defined as the sum of rules and standards that regulate access to, and the practice of, the medical profession. The medical profession is classified as a liberal profession in this context, not only from the professional and sociological point of view, but also from the constitutional and legal standpoint. The scope of medical professional law can be defined vertically and horizontally: on the one hand, with regard to the vast number of rules to which the physician is subject under the regulations of professional law and, on the other hand, with regard to regulations in special law, which conflict with other statutory provisions that are, in turn, either influenced by professional law (e.g. the law on contract physicians in Book V of the German Social Security Code) or themselves influence professional law by subjecting it to limitations (e.g. Art. 12 Para. 1 German Basic Law or European Community law).