Law and Ethics of Genetics – LEG
Applications of Genetics Genetic findings come with enormous benefits for societies, if this area is properly regulated. Regulation is also necessary because of the amount of information we can extract from an individual’s genetic data; the unavoidable data breaches and the numerous possible misuses of genetic information.
We work towards addressing legal and ethical implications of genetic findings, including:
- Ethics of Genetic Research
- Ethics of Applications of Genetic Findings (e.g. Gene Editing)
- Ethics of Access to Benefits of Genetic Scientific Progress
- Ethics of Use of Genetic Data for Prediction
- Legal Regulation of Genetic Research
- Legal Regulation of Applications of Genetic Findings (e.g. Gene Editing)
- Legal Regulation of Use of Genetic Data for Prediction
Training, Expert Opinions and more…
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Selected training, Courses and other work
TAGC provides training and expert Opinions on matters legal matters; disseminates knowledge; reviews law and its application in practice; reviews ethical guidelines; and makes proposals for policy and legislative updates. Read more…
Judges’ Training Conference, UK
‘Neural and Psychological Processes in Decision Making’
Head of TAGC Law & Ethics and LESIG Co-ordinator, Fatos Selita, was an invited speaker at the Judges’ Training Conference 2018. The talk was attended by over 100 judges from UK Tribunals and Courts. The talk ‘Neural and Psychological Processes in Decision Making’ covered how human mind is influenced, how these influences affect decision-making, and how to protect from influences (both external and internal) – how to outsmart human mind weaknesses. The talk included:
- Memory
- Metaphor
- Powerful vs. powerless language
- Attention
- A number of psychological processes such as Fundamental Attribution Error
- Influences and litigants in person (unrepresented litigants)
- Pathways of influences into human mind
- Undoing penetrated influences
- Individual differences in traits
- Impact of genes and environment on traits
- Distribution of traits
- Consciousness in decision-making
- Mental health, and impact on decision-making

- The extent human mind can update incorrect information (e.g fake news) with correct ones
- Gene-environment processes
- Detecting lies
- Mechanism of dishonesty
International event: Emerging and Contemporary Issues in Legal
Research
‘Genes and Human Rights’
Udayana University School of Law, Bali, Indonesia
LESIG Co-ordinator, Fatos Selita, addressed the impact of genetic advancements on human rights. The talk covered key genetic findings on human traits and addressed implications for human rights. Read more

Training of the senior judiciary, UK
‘Human Memory, Witnesses and Decision Making’
Head of TAGC Law & Ethics and LESIG Co-ordinator, Fatos Selita, delivered training to the UK judiciary on Human Memory, Witnesses and Decision Making. The training was attended by a range of judges, including High Court, Criminal Court, and Court of Appeal. The training covered a number of important aspects of decision-making, including:
- Reliability of memory and how memory is influenced and altered;
- Mind weaknesses and mind bugs affecting decision-making (e.g. selective attention, fundamental attribution error, biases)
- Suggestion (e.g. in police interviewing, lineups, advocacy)
- Impact of questioning on memory on evidence
- Lie detecting; The mechanism of dishonesty
- How to know a lie from the truth
- Origin of traits; Origin of individual differences and
- How these affect decision-making.

Assessment of the law and readiness of the legal systems to uphold justice in the genomic era
Courses on Law and Ethics of Genetics
Collaborations and contact
ORGANISATIONS: We welcome proposals for collaborations, including from research organisations, law organisations (e.g. law firms, chambers, law schools), policy institutions and interdisciplinary organisations.
INDIVIDUALS: If you are a lawyer, judge or geneticist with an interest on legal implications of genomic findings, we will be happy to hear from you.
Contact: Fatos Selita, fs@inblc.com
Key partner on LESIG work
Institute for Law & Ethics
ILE brings together Lawyers, Scientists and Policymakers to work on legal and ethical implications of genetics, including updating laws to protect individuals and ensure fair use of genetic findings.
ILE also provides professional training, consultation, reports and expert opinions in matters related to legal and ethical implications of genetics.
The Institute collaborates with international partners, including in the UK, USA, China and Canada.