Since 1 January 2022, the Steering Committee for Human Rights in the fields of Biomedicine and Health (CDBIO) has replaced the Committee on Bioethics (DH-BIO). Under the authority of the Committee of Ministers, and bearing in mind the Council of Europe legal standards, as well as the relevant jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, the CDBIO is responsible for:

  • carrying out the work assigned to the Steering Committee in Bioethics by the Convention on the protection of human rights and the dignity of human beings with regards to the applications of biology and medicine (Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine);
  • conducting the intergovernmental work on human rights protection in the fields of biomedicine, as well as health; in particular with regard to issues raised by the Covid-19 pandemic and taking into account the lessons to be learnt from the health crisis.

In accordance with its status of steering committee, the CDBIO holds regular exchange of views in order to evaluate its activities and advise the Committee of Ministers and the Secretary General on future priorities in its sectors including possible new activities and those that might be discontinued.

Furthermore, the terms of reference provide for regular exchange of views with the Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH).

Tomáš Doležal
Chair of the CDBIO

Ass. Prof. JUDr. Tomáš Doležal, Ph.D., LL.M., is a leading legal scholar in medical and civil law. He is Head of the Department of Civil Law and Head of the Research Unit for Medical Law and Bioethics at the Institute of State and Law, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, and lecturer at the Institute of Medical Law and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine. He is a Bureau member of the Council of Europe Steering Committee for Human Rights in the fields of Biomedicine and Health (CDBIO) and Head of the Czech Unit of UNESCO International Network in Bioethics. He collaborates with the Association of General Practitioners, especially during public consultations on medical legislation.

He is the author of many publications, including the monographs The Doctor-Patient Relationship in Private Law, Protection of patients' rights, and Causation the Civil Law.

Damaris Carnal
Vice-Chair of the CDBIO

Damaris Carnal currently holds the position of Deputy Head of the European Union and Neighboring States Unit within the International Affairs Divisions of the Federal Office of Public Health. 

She is an experienced international lawyer with extensive multilateral negotiations experience and specific expertise in human rights law, international humanitarian law, global health and environmental law and policy.

During more than ten years, she worked within the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). During that time, she held the position of Head of Section for International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Justice in the Directorate for Public International Law in Bern as well as the position of Legal Advisor to Swiss Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. And prior to joining the Federal of Public Health, she worked for the Federal Office for the Environment as a senior policy advisor for international negotiations.

She holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and an LL.M from the Geneva Academy of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law