The right to health, the TRIPS agreement and the public health safeguards to encourage the universal access to essential medicines

摘要

The privileges arising from patent protection on pharmaceutical products often prevent thefull realization of the right to health, especially in developing countries with scarceresources. This thesis first identifies the international agreements that have established theright to health in international law, obligations and violations associated with it, theproblems encountered in the implementation of human rights on the field, compared withthe implementation and sanctions associated with economic rights from the World TradeOrganization regulatory framework. A comparative study of the legislative frameworks ofboth developed and developing countries will reveal to what extent Canada, the UnitedStates, the European Union, Brazil, India, and South Africa conformed with patentprotection exceptions arising from international patent law to protect public health.Finally, the author identifies the crucial indicators that need to be considered in order toassess the conformity of a given approach with the right to health, before he underscoresthe temporary character of the relevant WTO measures, and the future stakes concerning anincreased access to essential medicines.