Human germline genome editing: Is there room for reinterpreting Article 13 of the Oviedo Convention?

Abstract

Article 13 of the Oviedo Convention (the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine) is a cornerstone of the legal regulation of human genome editing. However, the wording of this article is open to significant interpretation, particularly regarding the phrase 'genome of any descendants' and its application to germline interventions. This article analyses the interpretative difficulties of this provision and proposes a new interpretation, arguing that certain genetic interventions do not modify the genome of descendants per se, but rather manipulate the natural randomness. By analysingparadigmatic cases such as cystic fibrosis and Huntington's disease, the paper demonstrates that human genome editing could potentiallyproduce results that occur naturally with certain probabilities without introducing new gene variants. The paper concludes with proposals for regulatory reform to strengthen legal certainty in this area.