Civil Code of Quebec

(L.Q. 1991, c. 64) (excerpts)

Art 10. Every person is inviolable and is entitled to the integrity of his
person.
Except in cases provided for by law, no one may interfere with his person
without his free and enlightened consent.
Art 13. Consent to medical care is not required in case of emergency if the
life of the person is in danger or his integrity is threatened and his consent
cannot be obtained in due time.
It is required, however, where the care is unusual or has become useless or
where its consequences could be intolerable for the person.
Art 15. Where it is ascertained that a person of full age is incapable of
giving consent to care required by his or her state of health, consent is given
by his or her mandatary, tutor or curator. If the person of full age is not so
represented, consent is given by his or her married, civil union or de
facto spouse or, if the person has no spouse or his or her spouse is prevented
from giving consent, it is given by a close relative or a person who shows a
special interest in the person of full age.
Art 20. A person of full age who is capable of giving his consent may
participate in research that could interfere with the integrity of his person
provided that the ris incurred is not disproportionate to the benefit that can
reasonably be anticipated. !he research pro"ect must be approved and
monitored by a research ethics committee.
Art 21. A minor or a person of full age who is incapable of giving consent
may participate in research that could interfere with the integrity of his
person only if the ris incurred, taing into account his state of health and
personal condition, is not disproportionate to the benefit that may reasonably
be anticipated.
#oreover, a minor or a person of full age incapable of giving consent may
participate in such research only if, where he is the only sub"ect of the
research, it has the potential to produce benefit to his health or only if, in the
case of research on a group, it has the potential to produce results capable of
conferring benefit to other persons in the same age category or having the
same disease or handicap.
In all cases, a minor or a person of full age incapable of giving consent may
not participate in such research where he understands the nature and
consequences of the research and ob"ects to participating in it.
!he research pro"ect must be approved and monitored by a competent
research ethics committee. $uch a committee is formed by the #inister of
%ealth and $ocial $ervices or designated by that #inister from among
existing research ethics committees& the composition and operating
conditions of such a committee are determined by the #inister and
published in the Gazette officielle du Qubec.
Consent to research that could interfere with the integrity of a minor may be
given by the person having parental authority or the tutor. A minor '( years
of age or over, however, may give consent alone if, in the opinion of the
competent research ethics committee, the research involves only minimal
ris and the circumstances "ustify it.
Consent to research that could interfere with the integrity of a person of full
age incapable of giving consent may be given by the mandatary, tutor or
curator. %owever, where such a person of full age is not so represented and
the research involves only minimal ris, consent may be given by the person
qualified to consent to any care required by the state of health of the person
of full age. Consent may also be given by such a qualified person where a
person of full age suddenly becomes incapable of giving consent and the
research, insofar as it must be undertaen promptly after the appearance of
the condition giving rise to it, does not permit, for lac of time, the
designation of a legal representative for the person of full age. In both cases,
it is incumbent upon the competent research ethics committee to determine,
when evaluating the research pro"ect, whether it meets the prescribed
requirements.
Art 22. A part of the body, whether an organ, tissue or other substance,
removed from a person as part of the care he receives may, with his consent
or that of the person qualified to give consent on his behalf, be used for
purposes of research or, if he has died, be so used with the consent of the
person who could give or could have given consent to any care required by
his state of health.
Art 24. Consent to care not required by a person)s state of health, to the
alienation of a part of a person)s body, or to research that could interfere with
the integrity of his person shall be given in writing.
%owever, consent to such research may be given otherwise than in writing if
"ustified in the circumstances in the opinion of a research ethics committee.
In such a case, the committee determines the proper manner, for evidential
purposes, of obtaining consent.
It may be withdrawn at any time, even verbally.
Art25. !he alienation by a person of a part or product of his body shall be
gratuitous& it may not be repeated if it involves a ris to his health.
A person)s participation in research that could interfere with the integrity of
his person may not give rise to any financial reward other than the payment
of an indemnity as compensation for the loss and inconvenience suffered.
Art 35. Every person has a right to the respect of his reputation and
privacy.
*o one may invade the privacy of a person without the consent of the person
unless authori+ed by law.
Art 37. Every person who establishes a file on another person shall have a
serious and legitimate reason for doing so. %e may gather only information
which is relevant to the stated ob"ective of the file, and may not, without the
consent of the person concerned or authori+ation by law, communicate such
information to third persons or use it for purposes that are inconsistent with
the purposes for which the file was established. In addition, he may not,
when establishing or using the file, otherwise invade the privacy or in"ure
the reputation of the person concerned.
Art 1474. A person may not exclude or limit his liability for material in"ury
caused to another through an intentional or gross fault& a gross fault is a fault
which shows gross reclessness, gross carelessness or gross negligence.
%e may not in any way exclude or limit his liability for bodily or moral
in"ury caused to another.