Medical confidentiality is widely recognised as a concept worth protecting. Problems arise, however, when medical confidentiality conflicts with interests that are equally regarded as important, such as the interests of justice; the interest in criminal prosecution; the interest in crime prevention; or defence rights. In order to develop convincing and workable criteria to balance the competing interests in case of a conflict, the different interests at stake must be clearly defined, and their respective importance assessed. Different ethical approaches to the balancing process will be introduced, followed by an analysis of the law of four legal systems, France, Germany, the UK and the u.s. AIl four legal systems protect medical confidentiality by the means of private law, but only Germany and the U.S. protect medical confidentiality as part of the constitutional right to privacy. In France and Germany, a breach of medical confidentiality by a physician amounts to a criminal offence. Regardless of these differences, all systems agree that medical confidentiality serves both the privacy interests of the patient, and the public interest in protecting public health. Fundamental differences materialise with regard to the recognition of medical privilege, which is recognised in France, Germany, and some States in the U.S., but is rejected by other States in the U.S. and by the UK. While in the U.S., defence rights are regarded as more important than medical confidentiality, the same is not true for France and Germany. All systems agree that medical confidentiality can be outweighed by the interest in preventing a crime that might cause serious harm to a third party, but the criteria according to which the competing interests are balanced, differ. Based on a comparison of the different approaches, criteria for a consistent and morally justified resolution of the conflicts between medical confidentiality and the competing interests will be suggested.

The object of the principle of material truth is to assure the certainty of facts in order to be able to issue a ruling as close to reality as possible. The principle has an intimate relationship with the limitation periods which, as regulated in our Tax Code, are only established as minimum terms in which the tax debt or has to comply with the administration’s requirements, without specifying any maximum. The author explains how it is that the terms regarding the presentation of documents have to be fixed considering the civilian’s interestand not against it. He affirms that, as long as the collection procedure of a certain period has not concluded, the debtor has the faculty to offer information and arguments to the administration in order to sustain his statement, allowing him to discuss the objections formulated against him. / El principio de verdad material tiene por finalidad arribar a la certeza de los hechos para poder emitir un pronunciamiento lo más cercano posible a la realidad. Está vinculado con los plazos de preclusión que, en nuestro CódigoTributario, sólo están establecidos como plazos mínimos para que el deudor tributario cumpla con lo solicitado por la administración, sin señalar un plazo máximo. El autor explica cómo los plazos para presentarlos documentos deben ser fijados según el interés del administrado y no en perjuicio de éste; mientras no concluya el procedimiento administrativo de fiscalización por el período y ejercicio fiscal correspondiente, el deudor tributario se encuentra plenamente facultado para ofrecer la información y los argumentos que sustenten sus descargos, pudiendo levantar de ese modo que los reparos que se le han formulado.

Dans la procédure pénale, se développe une contradiction pour le fait que l'on assigne à cette matière à la fois la répression du crime et la protection des droits et libertés des personnes impliquées dans la commission du crime. Cette particularité de la procédure pénale, qui lui coûte sa stabilité, est davantage perçue dans la phase préparatoire du procès pénal. C'est à ce niveau que tout se joue. Le procès pénal proprement dit ne vient mettre en évidence que les éléments recueillis lors des investigations. Les pouvoirs coercitifs des autorités chargées des enquêtes sont diversifiés. Mais, au nom du principe de la présomption d'innocence, l'usage de la contrainte dans la phase préparatoire du procès pénal doit satisfaire aux exigences de nécessité et de proportionnalité. La Cour européenne des droits de l'homme porte un regard attentif sur l'exécution des mesures de contrainte, qui constituent la négation des droits et libertés individuels garantis par la Convention européenne. Ces mesures restent exceptionnelles au regard des principes constitutionnels. Les droits que le législateur accorde aux personnes qui en font l'objet en sont la contrepartie. Mais ces droits ne sont pas absolus. Les personnes soumises à contrainte avant tout jugement bénéficient d'une relative protection qui varie selon leur âge, la gravité de la contrainte en laquelle elles sont tenues et la nature de l'infraction considérée. / In the criminal procedure, develops a contradiction for the fact that we assign to this material at once the repression of the crime and the protection of the rights and the liberties of the persons involved in the commission of the crime. This peculiarity of the criminal procedure, which costs him his stability, is more perceived in the preparatory phase of the penal trial. It is at this level that everything takes place. The penal trial itself comes to bring to light only elements collected during the investigations. The coercive powers of the authorities loaded with inquiries are diversified. But, in the name of the principle of the presumption of innocence, the use of the coercion in the preparatory phase of the penal trial has to satisfy the requirements of necessity and proportionality. The European Court of Human Rights concerns an attentive glance the execution of measures of constraint, which constitute the negation of the guaranteed individual rights and the liberties by the European Convention of Human rights. These measures remain exceptional towards the constitutional principles. The rights which the legislator grants to the persons who are the object of it are the counterpart. But these rights are not absolute. The persons subjected to constraint above all judgment benefit from a relative protection which varies according to their age, the gravity of the constraint in which they are held and the nature of the considered breach.

L’évolution du secret médical vers un secret professionnel concernant de nombreuses professions soulève la question de la transmission des données personnelles de santé. Étudiant les fondements juridiques de cette transmission et s’appuyant sur des exemples pratiques relevés au cours de l’activité des praticiens conseils au sein de l’assurance maladie, ce travail développe les droits de l’individu sur la maîtrise du secret et les possibilités de transmissions des données dans le respect du droit des autres personnes que sont les ayants droits et les employeurs comme les droits de la défense. La possibilité d’une prédominance de la société sur la personne est envisagée dans le cadre de la protection de la santé, de la justice et de la gestion économique des dépenses de santé.Des propositions d’évolution des pratiques et de la législation visent à permettre l’encadrement des transmissions des données personnelles de santé dans le respect des droits des personnes. / Medical secrecy is moving towards a professional secrecy, which concerns numerous professions, raising the question of transmission of personnel health data.This thesis, based on practical examples taken from professional activities of practitioners advisers in the Health insurance, studies legal foundations of this transmission and develops individual rights on how to control secrecy and possibilities of transmission of data according to the respect of the rights of other people such as eligible parties and employers. The fact that a society can be more prominent than a person is contemplated in the context of health protection, justice and economic management of health spending.Evolutions of practices and legislation are suggested and aim at allowing the supervision of transmission of personal health data according to people’s rights.

Si le respect du droit à un procès équitable devrait occuper une place éminente au sein de toute société démocratique, cette exigence revêt un caractère axiomatique au sein d'une juridiction tournée vers la lutte contre l'impunité et la protection des droits de l'homme, telle que la Cour pénale internationale. Le peu de jugements rendus depuis plus de dix ans par la Cour permanente pourrait laisser penser qu'une telle étude est encore prématurée. Cette analyse met au contraire en exergue la densité de son activité et la singularité de ses procédures. Sacralisé par la Cour européenne des droits de l'homme, le droit à un procès équitable se décline en règles qui régissent non seulement les relations entre les parties mais aussi les rapports des individus avec la juridiction. Si la notion de droit à un procès équitable est familière des juristes, son interprétation pose un certain nombre de difficultés nouvelles. L'hybridité structurelle et normative de la Cour pénale internationale influencera nécessairement la réception que celle-ci réservera au principe, mais également l'interprétation unique qu'il conviendra de donner à ce droit fondamental. Prenant acte du caractère novateur de cette juridiction, cette thèse n'omettra pas d'envisager le droit à un procès équitable sous le prisme singulier de la victime, nouveau visage du procès. Souvent exclue du débat judiciaire relatif à l'équité des procédures, cette analyse s'attèle à replacer cet acteur au coeur des préoccupations régissant la conduite équitable du procès. / While the right to a fair trial should be at the heart of any democratic society, this requirement has an axiomatic significance in a court dedicated to the fight against impunity and the protection of human rights, such as the International Criminal Court. In view of the few judgments rendered in over ten years of this permanent Court's existence, this study might seem somewhat premature.Rather, this analysis purports to shed light on the diverse nature of the Court's activities and the unique character of its procedures. Enshrined by the European Court of Human Rights, the right to a fair trial is expressed in the form of regulations that govern not only the relationships between the parties, but also the interaction of individuals with the Court. The concept of the right to a fair trial may be familiar to legal experts trained in different legal traditions. Still its interpretation is fraught with challenges that are new and specific to this permanent Court. The structural and normative hybridity of the ICC will inevitably influence not only the treatment of this concept, but also the unique interpretation that this fundamental right deserves. Against the backdrop of the innovative nature of this Court, it would be remiss of the author of this thesis not to consider the right to a fair trial through the unique prism of the victim, the new face in the trial. Often excluded from the judicial debate on the fairness of the proceedings, this analysis will nevertheless endeavour to place this stakeholder back in the heart of the concerns over the conduct of a fair trial.