The Ethical and Criminal Responsibilities of Medical Doctors: A Perspective from Afghanistan Laws and the International Islamic Charter of Health and Medical Ethics

Abstract

Medical doctors have the responsibility to observe all medical ethical principles during the treatment of patients to ensure their rights and strengthen trust in the medical sector. Some non-observance of these principles remains in ethical responsibility and some of them bring under criminal responsibility due to their high value. Whereas, if these principles are not observed, the medical sector will face serious challenges. This study discusses the ethical and criminal responsibilities of medical doctors, which are listed in the laws of Afghanistan and the International Islamic Charter of Medical and Health Ethics, and the causes which the thorough observance of these responsibilities has faced challenges. The study aims to inform medical doctors about their ethical and criminal responsibilities and to understand responsible organizations about the causes of the scarce care to it. The study is qualitative in nature and employs an analytical-descriptive research design. Secondary sources such as books, laws, regulations, online journals, scientific articles, and the International Islamic Charter of Medical and Health Ethics were utilized, and any terms requiring definition and clarification were provided after each main paragraph. The finding of this study shows that if medical doctors do not care about those responsibilities which include the laws of Afghanistan, the violator of ethical principles will be disciplined according to the regulation of medical ethics, and those who act against the penal code, will be punished accordingly. Moreover, the consideration of limited action as a crime in the penal code caused scarce care for the complete observance of those responsibilities. In the law of Afghanistan, medical doctors have a series of obligations in addition to their rights, such as respect for the patient, compliance with clinical standards, providing appropriate facilities, accurate diagnosis and treatments of the patient and so on that should be followed.