The falsification of medical products and other similar crimes effectively deny patients the necessary medical treatment and are harmful to the health of individuals, sometimes leading to death. In response to this global threat, the Council of Europe has drawn up the first international treaty against counterfeit medical products and other similar crimes involving threats to public health, namely the MEDICRIME Convention.
At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is posing unprecedented challenges to the health sector, extreme vigilance is needed against falsified medical products. Faced with this threat, Member States can rely on the MEDICRIME Convention to safeguard public health and thereby target the criminal behaviours of perpetrators such as criminal networks and organisations that take advantage of the current crisis and loopholes in the health systems.
For instance, the MEDICRIME Committee has already issued in April 2021 an Advice on the application of the MEDICRIME Convention in the context of counterfeit COVID-19 vaccines and contributed to a statement on COVID-19 and related vaccines: ensuring equitable access to vaccination during the current and future pandemics issued by the Council of Europe Committee on Bioethics.
The Council of Europe HELP online course on Pharmaceutical crime and the MEDICRIME Convention is aimed at assisting legal professionals to appropriately address pharmaceutical crime.
On 18 October 2021, the HELP course on the MEDICRIME Convention was launched for legal professionals in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This launching developed by the HELP Programme was addressed to 17 judges and prosecutors in the framework of the project “Initiative for legal certainty and efficient judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina – Phase II”. It is implemented in cooperation with the Centre for Judicial and Prosecutorial Training of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Centre for Judicial and Prosecutorial Training of the Republika Srpska.
The course includes following modules:
Introduction
Module 1: What is pharmaceutical crime?
- Pharmaceutical crime – the problem. Dangers of counterfeit medicines
- What is the reasoning behind the MEDICRIME Convention?
- What are medical products?
- Associated crimes
Module 2: Offences under the MEDICRIME Convention
- Before the MEDICRIME Convention
- Criminal sanctions – what does the MEDICRIME Convention say?
Module 3: Investigating a pharmaceutical crime
- New methods and techniques
- Investigation tools
- Medicine regulation and specialists
- Investigative aids and teamwork
Module 4: International cooperation
- Forms of co-operation. How does international co-operation work?
- Human rights and international cooperation
- Other general principles
HELP courses are accessible for free on the HELP online platform.
The project: "Initiative for Legal Certainty and Efficient Judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina – Phase II” is implemented by the Council of Europe and funded by the Kingdom of Norway.
