Adopted by the 60th WMA General Assembly, New Delhi, India, October 2009
and revised by the 70th WMA General Assembly, Tbilisi, Georgia, October 2019
The WMA reaffirms the Declaration of Seoul on professional autonomy and clinical independence of physicians.
The medical profession must play a central role in regulating the conduct and professional activities of its members, ensuring that their professional practice is in the best interests of citizens.
The regulation of the medical profession plays an essential role in ensuring and maintaining public confidence in the standards of care and of behaviour that they can expect from medical professionals. That regulation requires very strong independent professional involvement.
Physicians aspire to the development or maintenance of systems of regulation that will best protect the highest possible standards of care for all patients. Professionally led models can provide an environment that enhances and assures the individual physician’s right to treat patients without interference, based on his or her best clinical judgment. Therefore, the WMA urges its constituent members and all physicians to work with regulatory bodies and take appropriate actions to ensure effective systems are in place. These actions should be informed by the following principles: