This comparative report provides a comprehensive insight into patient’s self-determination in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden). The report focuses on a patient’s right to self-determination in the Nordic countries and aims to answer the questions of how issues of valid consent to or refusal of (somatic) medical interventions are regulated in the Nordic countries, and what the current regulatory challenges are.

The report answers a number of questions within a legal framework developed in collaboration with law students and academics. It begins with an introduction to international human rights law in healthcare, followed by each national report about the legal regulation of patient’s status and valid consent; including the regulation regarding emergency medical interventions. The report concludes with a comparison and suggestions for improvement of the law.