Table 1.
Signatures of the Oviedo Convention and its additional Genetic Testing Protocol and national legislation (laws passed by parliament) related to genetic counselling in EU Member States.
| Signatory to Oviedo Convention |
Defined in national legislation? |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | General Convention (1997) | Genetic Testing Protocol (2008) | Additional National Legislation | Who can provide genetic counselling | What must be discussed during genetic counselling | When must genetic counselling be provided |
| Austria | – | – | Gene Technology Act (1994) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Belgium | – | – |
|
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bulgaria | Yes | – | Health Law (2005) | – | – | – |
| Croatia | Yesa | – | Law on the Protection of Patients’ Rights (2008) | – | – | – |
| Cyprus | Yes | – | – | – | – | – |
| Czech Republic | Yes | Yes | Act 373/2011 Coll. on Specific Health Care Services | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Denmark | Yesb | – | Amendment of the Healthcare Law, 27/01/2022 | – | – | – |
| Estonia | Yes | – | – | – | – | – |
| Finland | Yes | Yesc | – | – | – | – |
| France | Yesa | Yesc | Law no. 2021-1017 of August 2, 2021 on Bioethics | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Germany | – | – | Gene Diagnostics Law (2009) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Greece | Yes | – | – | – | – | – |
| Hungary | Yes | – | Parliamentary Act No. XXI (2008) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ireland | – | – | Disability Act (2005) | – | Yes | Yes |
| Italy | Yesc | – | – | – | – | – |
| Latvia | Yes | – | Human Genome Research Law (2004) | – | – | – |
| Lithuania | Yes | – | – | – | – | – |
| Luxembourg | Yes- | Yesc | Nomenclature Law (2014) | Yes | Yes | |
| Hospital Law (2018) | – | – | – | |||
| Malta | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Netherlands | Yesc | – | Special Medical Procedures Act (1997) | Yes | – | – |
| Poland | Yesc | – | – | – | – | – |
| Portugal | Yes | Yes | Personal Genetic Information and Health Information Act (2005) | Yes | – | Yes |
| Romania | Yes | – | – | – | – | – |
| Slovakia | Yes | – | – | – | – | – |
| Slovenia | Yes | Yes | Criminal Code | – | – | Yes |
| Spain | Yes | – | Law 14/2007, of 3 July, on Biomedical Research | – | Yes | Yes |
| Sweden | Yesc | – | Genetic Integrity Act (2006) | – | – | – |
See Supplementary table S2 for further details regarding specific sections of national legislation judged to address ‘who’, ‘what’ and ‘when’ considerations.
Signed with reservations.
Signed with reservations, declarations/denunciations/derogations and territorial application.
Signed but not ratified.