Bio-Ethical and Legal Database (BIOLAW Database)

The Bioethical and Legal Research Database has started as a joint initiative of the Central European University (CEU) and the Public Understanding of Genetics in Europe (PUG) research project, financed by the European Commission Fifth framework Programme: Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources, and having Prof. Judit Sándor as Principal Investigator representing CEU. The database website had been launched on December 15, 2004, when Enikő Demény presented it to the public forum “Genetics and Society,” organized in Barcelona.

Since than the Biolaw Database is expanding week by week to include laws, legal cases, professional guidelines and expert opinions published by international organizations, national governments, legislative bodies and NGOs throughout the world. The database has been indexed under the main search engines, therefore it can be reached by all those who are searching the internet on the topics of bio-law, biomedicine. Up to now the database has been accessed from fourty countries of the five continents.

In 2006/2007 CELAB decided to restructure the database on the one hand in order to make it more user friendly, and on the other hand to reflect CELAB’s research profile in a more accurate way. In this way the database will cover the following fields of research: biobanks; biomedical research; cloning; euthanasia; GMO; gender, family, identity; human genetics; human reproduction; intellectual property; nanotechnology.

The database can be accessed at: www.biolaw-database.com