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Legal Status and Dignity of Persons Living with Dementia in Serbia

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Living with Dementia

Part of the book series: Advances in Neuroethics ((AIN))

Abstract

This chapter identifies, analyzes, and discusses the existing legal framework relevant to the lives of persons suffering from dementia in present-day Serbia, particularly the prospects and limitations of the applicability of human dignity in this context.

The existing framework addresses, among other issues, the formal removal of a person’s legal capacity (this chapter presents new data regarding dementia-related cases), the following appointment of a guardian, the possibilities of designating a person who shall thenceforth make health decisions in the case of an individual’s incapacity, and additional general health concerns and patients’ rights norms, as well as a set of anti-discrimination and social protection norms. Yet this structure lacks more broadly construed advanced planning options, specific supported decision-making solutions which could better correspond to particular stages and manifestations of dementia (fluctuating cognition, borderline statuses, specific deficiencies), and improvements regarding the empowering of caretakers, among other elements.

The governing framework does, however, rely significantly on the concept of dignity. Considering the relevant legal and philosophical discourses on human dignity, as well as its place in the law of Serbia, the author explains why understanding and applying the concept in cases of those suffering from dementia poses difficulties. Two major, interrelated interpretational axes of human dignity are distinguished, as are respect for human dignity and a more general request not to downgrade.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Some of these questions were posed by Bergson [3] more than a century ago.

  2. 2.

    The BCNS was in 2018 the fifth out of 67 basic courts in Serbia in view of the number of cases in work. More importantly, from 2013–2016 21% of all decisions on the removal of legal capacity in Serbia were issued by the BCNS [9, p. 31].

  3. 3.

    More about human dignity in international law in [24]; on human dignity in Serbia in [25].

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the court management of the Basic Court in Novi Sad for the opportunity to investigate its court practice and consequently carry out an important part of this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Law and Business Studies dr Lazar Vrkatić, Union University, Novi Sad, Serbia

    Duška Franeta

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  1. Duška Franeta
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Correspondence to Duška Franeta .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, and Science Technology and Society (STS) Program, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Veljko Dubljević

  2. Department of Philosophy, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC, USA

    Frances Bottenberg

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Franeta, D. (2021). Legal Status and Dignity of Persons Living with Dementia in Serbia. In: Dubljević, V., Bottenberg, F. (eds) Living with Dementia. Advances in Neuroethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62073-8_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62073-8_11

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