“Surgical Operation” Provisions in Commonwealth Criminal Codes

“Medical law” is a relatively new concept in England and in related common law jurisdictions. For example, it was not until the 1970s that any English, Australian, or New Zealand academic listed his or her academic interests as including “medical law”. It was not until the 1980s that “medical law” was used in the title of any book in England, Australia or New Zealand, and it was not until the 1990s that the term was used in the name of any English language law review.