Legal Bases for Prosecution of Medical Staff for Illegal Acts During the Soviet and Post-Soviet Periods

Abstract

Objective: to study the historical retrospective of the Soviet (1917-1991) and post-Soviet (1991 – present) periods of healthcare, the evolution of their legal support; to conduct a comprehensive criminological study and analysis of the criminal liability of medical staff who committed illegal acts in the historical periods under consideration.Methods: the methodological basis of the study was the methods of analysis, synthesis, comparison, formal and logical approach. In addition, the author used specific scientific methods, including the historical one.Results: in general, the analysis of the legal foundations of criminal prosecution of medical staff who committed illegal acts during the Soviet and post-Soviet period suggests that the institute of legal liability of medical staff, the medical science and practice developed in parallel under the influence of social, economic and political factors. Since the beginning of the Soviet period, the issues of liability of medical staff have caused numerous disputes among both researchers and practitioners, and today these disputes continue and do not subside. At the same time, it is important to emphasize that the Russian legislative system in the field of healthcare has always been formed solely with the special attitude of the state and society to medical staff, who were perceived as guardians of the health of the citizens and enjoyed their confidence, which in turn gave rise to special caution and responsibility among medical personnel.Scientific novelty: the study is distinguished by the author’s unique approach, which allowed stating the social conditionality of legal prohibitions for the illegal acts under consideration, as well as the causal relationship between the regulatory legal framework formed and the social consequences generated by it in the Soviet and post-Soviet periods.Practical significance: the conclusions obtained by studying the genesis of the problems related to the liability of medical personnel for committing illegal acts will contribute to the development of a scientific understanding of the essence of the phenomenon under consideration, as well as the identification of a modern causal complex contributing to the occurrence of these illegal acts.

Keywords

• medical activity, healthcare system, medical personnel, medical errors, liability of medical staff