Law and the radiologist, socio-legal perspectives in radiology practice, lex radiologica: Fundamental commandments of radiology practice in the times that be

Abstract

No civilization…would ever have been possible without a framework of stability, to provide the wherein for the flux of change. Foremost among the stabilizing factors, more enduring than customs, manners, and traditions, are the legal systems that regulate our life in the world and our daily affairs with each other. - Hannah Arendt (political philosopher) in Crises of the Republic. Man is a social animal. Ever since the Old Stone Age, humans have formed communes to live in groups so that they could be safe from the elements inimical to their safety. As man evolved, so did the rules that governed society. The great Indian sage Manu wrote a treatise titled Manu Smriti(1500 BC), which was a social code for those times. The guiding principle of the Manu Smriti was that people in a civilized society must follow a set of rules and regulations that serve the best interests of its members. This basic doctrine was also the spirit behind the ancient pious thought of bahujana hitaya, bahujana sukhaya. The objective of such essays was simply to guard against anarchy and lawlessness in human society and to make life more organized and orderly. In modern times, with the progress made on various fronts, it has become necessary to formulate laws, rules, and regulations so that all sections of society can live in peace and harmony and take full advantage of the developments in the scientific field. Over the eons, small groups of people have evolved into larger clusters, which have further organized themselves into nation states with well-defined boundaries. Each nation has formulated its own set of rules and regulations in the form of a ‘constitution,’ which is the supreme governing directive that helps those in power run a country and provide a safe and orderly life to its citizens. The constitution defines the rights and duties of the citizens and the executive. Every citizen of the nation state is expected to express and owe allegiance to the constitution and to follow the rules set out therein. The radiologist is also a citizen and therefore bound by the constitution of the country.