Collection KFLE/LWP - MEDICAL LAW AND ETHICS: King's College London Living Wills Project records

Key Information

Reference code

KFLE/LWP

Title

MEDICAL LAW AND ETHICS: King's College London Living Wills Project records

Date(s)

  • 1985-1992 (Creation)

Level of description

Collection

Extent

3 boxes or 0.03 cubic metres

Scope and content

Records of the Living Wills Working Group and Living Wills Project at The Centre of Medical Law and Ethics at King's College London, 1985-1992. The papers of the Living Wills Working Party, 1985-1989, including correspondence of the Working Party and opinions of other organisations on the development of the report, 1985-1989; unbound copy of the final Living Wills Working Party report, 1988. Papers of the Living Wills Project, 1990-1992, including agendas and minutes of meetings, 1991-1992; thesis by Charlotta Schlyter 'AIDS and Aid-in-Dying the Impact of AIDS on the Debate Over Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide and Cessation of Treatment', 1990; papers regarding the development of the questionnaires, 1991-1992; correspondence with AIDS agencies, medical professionals, and other regarding the development and distribution of questionnaires, 1991-1992; completed questionnaires and analysis of the data gathered during the Project,1991-1992.

System of arrangement

The collection has been arranged into the categories above.

General Information

Name of creator

(1985)

Biographical history

The Centre for Medical Law and Ethics, part of the School of Law, was opened in 1978 to undertake research, organise teaching and publish papers concerning issues in medicine involving law and ethics. It draws on the expertise of staff in numerous schools and departments including medicine and theology and offers undergraduate course units and an MA and Diploma programme. The Living Wills Working Party was set up between the Centre and the charity, Age Concern, in 1985, as an early exercise in methodological appraisal of the subject and comprised a forerunner to the Living Wills Project run by the Centre and the AIDS charity, the Terrence Higgins Trust, to measure and evaluate the demand for advanced legal directives and powers of attorney pertaining to medical treatment of terminally or chronically-ill patients.

Custodial history

Transferred to the Archives from the Centre in 1996 and 1998.

Conditions governing access

Files containing personal data are closed for 80 years and sensitive personal data for 100 years from the date of the most recent document in the file.

Access may be granted to researchers, and upon signature of a special undertaking, providing such research is for purely statistical purposes and published data is anonymised such as to prevent the identification of individuals.

Administrative records are generally closed for 20 years except for published material and some committee and other minutes.

Where open, access is subject to signature of Reader's undertaking form, and appropriate provision of two forms of identification, to include one photographic ID.

Conditions governing reproduction

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied from open material for research purposes only.

Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Archives.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

Finding aids

The catalogue is available on-line and in hard copy in the Archive reading room.

Existence and location of originals

Off-campus collection

Please note: We require 7 days notice to retrieve this collection as part, or all of it, is held off-campus. Read more ›

Related materials

King's College London Archives: Centre for Medical Law and Ethics postgraduate student files, 1985-1986 (Ref: KCLCA KFLE/FPPG); Financial records of the Centre, (Ref. KCLA 1998/KFLE); annual prospectuses for the Centre (Ref: KCLCA KFL/SYL 1-2); records of the Persistent Vegetative State (PVS) Project (Ref: KCLCA KFLE/PVS).

Related descriptions

Alternative identifier(s)

Place access points

People and Organisations

Genre access points

Rules and/or conventions used

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000.

Script(s)

Archivist's note

Entry compiled by Geoff Browell. Updated by Katie Mooney when the collection was catalogued.

Accession area