Genetic Diagnosis and Medical Genetics in Turkish Court of Cassation Decisions: A Cross-sectional Decision Analysis
Genetic Diagnosis and Medical Genetics in Turkish Court of Cassation Decisions
Keywords:
Medical genetics, genetic diagnosis, Court of Cassation, judicial decisions, medical law, prenatal diagnosis, DNA testingAbstract
Objective: Advances in genetic and genomic technologies have expanded the clinical role of medical genetics and created complex legal, ethical, and social implications. Despite the growing integration of genetic information into clinical practice and legal proceedings, the representation of genetic and medical genetic concepts in Turkish Court of Cassation decisions has not been systematically examined.
Methods: A retrospective, descriptive, cross-sectional decision analysis was conducted using the publicly accessible Yargıtay Karar Arama database. Two keywords, “genetic diagnosis” and “medical genetics,” were searched in Turkish. After removal of duplicates and assessment of eligibility, 16 decisions were included in the final analysis. Decisions were classified into a main analysis group (n = 12) and a secondary analysis group (n = 4). Data were extracted on legal context, genetic themes, role of genetic evidence, expert assessments, and judicial outcomes.
Results: The included decisions spanned 2009 to 2024 and covered both civil and criminal chambers. The most frequent legal context was DNA-based parentage and family law disputes (37.5%), followed by prenatal diagnosis or medical genetics-related malpractice and laboratory responsibility (31.3%), medical genetics service reimbursement disputes (18.8%), and genetic disease-related procedural rights and personality rights claims (12.5%). Expert evaluation was a recurring determinant of judicial reasoning across all categories.
Conclusion: Decisions of the Turkish Court of Cassation reveal that genetics has become a multidimensional legal issue, extending beyond parentage testing into prenatal diagnosis, laboratory responsibilities, informed consent, reimbursement, and procedural rights. Emerging genomics-related issues such as variant reinterpretation, duties to warn relatives, and genetic discrimination have not yet achieved visibility before the high courts in Türkiye.
