Council of Europe adopts MEDICRIME convention

Council of Europe Ministers have adopted the MEDICRIME convention, claimed to be the first international instrument for the criminalisation of counterfeiting of medical products and similar crimes in order to protect the public health.

The text of the convention - available here - obliges CoE member states to criminalise: the manufacturing of counterfeit medical products;  supplying, offering to supply and trafficking in counterfeit medical products; the falsification of documents; and the unauthorised manufacturing or supplying of medicinal products and the placing on the market of medical devices which do not comply with conformity requirements.

MEDICRIME applies to the 47 member countries of the CoE, but can also be recognised and ratified by non-CoE countries around the world.

In a statement, the Council said: "counterfeiting medical products and similar crimes threaten the right to life enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR)." It added it had long been concerned about the absence of harmonised international legislation in this area.

The convention also provides a framework for national and international cooperation across the different sectors of the public administration, measures for coordination at national level, preventive measures for use by public and private sectors and protection of victims and witnesses.

It also calls for the establishment of a monitoring body to oversee the implementation of MediCrime by member states.

The Convention will be opened for signature in 2011, at a date to be decided later by the Committee of Ministers.

An explanatory note on MEDICRIME has also been made available.


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