Over the past thirty years, there has been considerable debate over the legal status of human body parts. While the body and biomaterials were traditionally considered to be outside of the realm of property in common law jurisdictions, recent legal decisions have challenged this. There has been a gradual shift towards recognition of some proprietary interests in body parts by the courts. Similarly, while academic opinion originally weighed against according body parts any status as a form of property, the tide has turned increasing to favour (at least) a limited property approach. Although approval of these recent moves is not universal, with regards to property and human biomaterials, this two day workshop will explore the possible foundations and implications of this transformation in legal thinking. It will examine why such a shift has come about, asking whether it has been driven in part by (a) a realisation of the challenges that maintaining a ‘no property’ paradigm presents in the biotechnological age and (b) an evolution in the way that the concept of property is understood as applied to human biomaterials.

The objectives of the workshop are to

• explore changing ethical, legal, and social norms with regards to the human body and its parts;
• examine the evolution of the law in relation to the human body and its parts in both common and civil law jurisdictions, with an explicit focus on using property frameworks as the lens for analysis;
• evaluate the inter-relationship between the law and the ethical and social norms in the area; and
• investigate what these changes mean for both the law in practice and our relationships to both the law and our bodies.

The workshop is being organised by Imogen Goold (University of Oxford) and Muireann Quigley (University of Bristol).

Participants include:

• Sakari Tamminen, Researcher, Department of Social Research, Helsinki University
• Duncan Wilson, Research Associate, Centre for History of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of Manchester
• Graeme Laurie, Professor of Medical Jurisprudence, Co-Director, Mason Institute, University of Edinburg
• Nils Hoppe, Professor of Law, Co-Director, Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences, Leibniz University
• Heleen Weyers, Assistant Professor Theory of Law, Sociology of Law and Bioethics, University of Groningen
• Dr Gill Haddow, Senior Research Fellow, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh
• Christian Lenk, Professor, Institute of the History, Philosophy and Ethics of Medicine, Ulm University
• Simon Douglas, Lecturer in Law, Faculty of Law, University of Oxford
• Dr Kathy Liddell, Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law, Faculty of Law,University of Cambridge

There are 12 further places available and we invite those interested to contact us. We aim to bring together a range of academic expertise, including (bio)ethics, law, social and cultural studies, technology studies, health policy, and the medical and life sciences. We aim to include participants from across Europe and across disciplines in order to facilitate cross-disciplinary and cross-country dialogue and discussion.

Attendance is free for participants. Lunch and refreshments will be provided, as well as dinner on the first evening. Travel and accommodation will be the responsibility of the participants.

Please register your interest by 18th November 2013. You can do this by emailing imogen.goold[at]law.ox.ac.uk or muireann.quigley[at]bristol.ac.uk with your name and affiliation, along with a brief statement of your interest in the workshop. Participants will be selected according to fit of interest in the area and disciplinary expertise.