RESUMO
As the field of medical law is regarded, since the 1950s two most significant entities recognized by international law have been present in the sphere of Europe: The Council of Europe which members signed to protect fundamental rights and freedoms and the European Union established upon the original European Communities which influence protection of fundamental rights steadily tends to grow especially in the last decades and results in a legally binding Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Despite the impressive amount of reservations and exceptions to the conventions, the European Convention for Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and particularly the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine are presented as great instruments for influencing national laws. The role of European institutions in coordinating, harmonising or even unifying national laws as far the issue of public health is concerned is much more difficult - on one hand there are the legal binding measures permitted under specific provisions of EU Treaties to define the minimum standard, on the other hand the subsidiary of the Union's action in the area of public health and the doctrine of complementary competence happen to be rather dominant.