French Public Health Code
In forceAny person of legal age may draw up advance directives in the event of one day being unable to express his or her wishes. These advance directives express the person's wishes regarding the end of their life and the conditions for continuing, limiting, stopping or refusing medical treatment or procedures.
They can be revised and revoked at any time and by any means. They may be drawn up in accordance with a model, the content of which is laid down by decree in the Conseil d'Etat, after obtaining the opinion of the Haute Autorité de santé. This model provides for the situation of the person depending on whether or not he or she knows that he or she is suffering from a serious illness at the time the directive is drawn up.
Advance directives are binding on the doctor for any decision to carry out an investigation, intervention or treatment, except in the event of a life-threatening emergency, for the time required for a full assessment of the situation, and when the advance directives appear to be manifestly inappropriate or inconsistent with the medical situation.
The decision to refuse to apply the advance directives, which the doctor deems to be manifestly inappropriate or inconsistent with the patient's medical situation, is taken at the end of a collegiate procedure defined by regulation and is recorded in the medical record. It is brought to the attention of the trusted support person designated by the patient or, failing this, the family or close friends.
A decree in the Conseil d'Etat, issued after consultation with the Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés, defines the conditions for informing patients and the conditions for the validity, confidentiality and storage of advance directives. In particular, advance directives are kept on a national register which is processed automatically in accordance with law no. 78-17 of 6 January 1978 relating to information technology, files and civil liberties. When they are kept in this register, a reminder of their existence is regularly sent to their author.
The attending physician informs his patients of the possibility and conditions for drawing up advance directives.
When a person is the subject of a legal protection measure with representation relating to the person, he or she may draw up advance directives with the authorisation of the judge or the family council if it has been formed. The person in charge of the protective measure may neither assist nor represent the person in this respect.
