Bioethics International Committee

The International Bioethics Committee of the Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medical Academy (TMA) is a collegial body that reviews and determines the compliance of planned research projects and activities with Georgian and international legislation defined ethical norms. This committee of TMA is a member of the International Chair in Bioethics (ICB – the International Chair in Bioethics).

The International Chair in Bioethics (ICB) - On June 24th 2001 an agreement was signed by the Director-General of UNESCO and the Rector of the Haifa University, Israel, concerning the establishment of a UNESCO Chair in Bioethics at the International Center of Health, Law and Ethics, University of Haifa. Article 2 of the Agreement defined the purpose of the Chair: To coordinate and stimulate an International Network of Institutes for Medical Ethics Training, associating higher education institutes in both the developed and developing countries, and to develop an up-to-date syllabus for medical ethics education which will satisfy the requirements of medical schools in the world. The reason for that important initiative resulted from two international researches carried out by the International Centre Center for Health, Law and Ethics in 1996 and 2001. The aim of the project was to check whether the lack of proper teaching of ethics in medical schools was one of the reasons for the deterioration in the relationship between doctors and patients. Apparently, the findings offered a validation to this assumption and brought about the establishment of a Chair in Bioethics at the International Center of Health, Law and Ethics. The Chair started to establish a network of Units within academic institutes committed to disseminating, improving and monitoring education in ethics in medical schools. The agreement with UNESCO has expired, and the Chair has become an independent international organization. In 2022 an agreement of cooperation was signed between the Chair and the World Medical Association (WMA).