The individual’s right to one’s own body in relationships of proximity - Dogmas, discourses, interpretations

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Anne Röthel
• Subject Area: Private Law
• Term: from 2020 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 456180863

This research project will examine the legal framework that guarantees the right to bodily integrity and bodily autonomy in relationships of proximity that are governed by private law. The project is based on the conceptual notion that an individual’s right to bodily integrity and autonomy in such relationships has developed in different stages than in the relationships between the state and the individual or between non-proximate third parties. Sexual assault in marriage or the violation of integrity in the parent-child relationship are subjects that have sparked extensive discussions. More recently, questions have also been raised concerning the assessment of sport injuries, the permissibility of subjecting persons under guardianship to compulsory treatment, or parents’ authority to decide on the performance of gender-affirming operations or abortions.The project aims to make visible the features which shaped and continue to shape the distinct stance on the right to bodily integrity and autonomy in relationships of proximity. The central legal debates since the early 20th century will be reconstructed and scrutinised for similarities and patterns. This examination will be guided by a particular interest in the dogmas and arguments invoked in explaining and legitimising private physical power in relationships of proximity. Additional focus will be placed on the circumstances and reasons that helped the right to bodily integrity and autonomy in relationships of proximity to prevail.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants