Freckelton Ian
Crockett Chambers, Melbourne, Australia.
J Law Med. 2008 Dec;16(3):488-511.
In Australia and the United Kingdom, but not New Zealand, the notions of "good character" and "fitness to practise" are relevant thresholds to registration, deregistration and re-registration of medical practitioners, as well as in a number of other legal contexts. This article surveys different cultural and professional perspectives on "good character" and reviews the extensive case law which has interpreted the expression in relation to doctors' regulation. It acknowledges the conceptual shortcomings of "character" as a psychological construct, especially when it is postulated by way of a simplistic dichotomy between "good" and "bad" character. It argues, though, that the legitimate public expectation that medical practitioners adhere to high standards of ethical conduct justifies a requirement that they conduct themselves in such a way as not to diminish the confidence that members of the public are entitled to have in the profession of medicine and the trustworthiness of its practitioners. This can most effectively be done by replacing the concept of "character" with the requirement that a doctor be, and remain, "a fit and proper person" to be registered.
在澳大利亚和英国，而非新西兰，“品德良好”和“适合行医”的概念是医生注册、注销注册及重新注册的相关门槛，在其他一些法律背景下也是如此。本文考察了关于“品德良好”的不同文化和专业观点，并回顾了大量阐释该表述与医生监管相关内容的判例法。文章承认“品德”作为一种心理建构在概念上的缺陷，尤其是当它被简单地假定为“好”与“坏”品德的二分法时。不过，文章认为，公众合理地期望医生遵守高标准的道德行为，这证明了要求医生以不削弱公众对医学职业及其从业者的信任的方式行事是合理的。最有效的做法是用要求医生是且始终是“适合注册的正当人选”这一要求来取代“品德”的概念。
