What are the key international policy positions addressing the exceptions to consent?
Many international norms provide for the possibility of an exception to obtaining consent, under certain conditions. For example: • The Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association, 2008) provides that an exception to consent can occur when it is unpractical or impossible to obtain consent, or when the obligation to obtain consent would jeopardize the validity of the study. In these events, it is necessary that an ethics review committee’s authorization be obtained; • The International Declaration on Human Genetic Data (UNESCO, 2003) provides that an exception to obtaining consent may be permitted if the data that will be used is important to the study, for instance, in the context of epidemiological research. This exception must be provided in the internal legislation of the country concerned, and must be authorized by an ethics review committee.
