The rights and obligations of the doctor and the patient are regulated by various laws, the most important of them being the Patients’ Rights Act. The main obligations of the doctor are the correctly carried out explanatory duty and performing a medical procedure or treatment of lege artis. In case of breach of obligations, the doctor or medical institution is liable for damages. There is now a well-established view in legal theory (jurisprudence) and case-law that this particular case is an example of contractual liability for damages. However, older case-law has taken the position that this same case could also be presented as a non-contractual liability. The question that has been dealt with mainly in recent case-law and legal theory which will also be discussed in a following master's thesis is whether the contract between a doctor and a patient is a sui generis contract, a contract of service or a contract of mandate.
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