J.F. Crul The topic Legal Aspects of Anaesthesia is still rarely treated in book publications, but deserves increasing attention as more cases of litigation occur each year and anaesthetists also become more aware of the legal structure within which they practice their profession. I am happy to have been able to obtain the cooperation of experts in this field from various European countries. The contributing authors in this book come from both the anaesthesia and surgery side as well as from the jurisprudential background. As these two fields have their own professional jargon we have been very careful in using definitions, avoiding that a specific term might lead to misunderstanding and confusion. The international authorship did not facilitate this task. The subject of this book was also the topic of a meeting of the European Academy of Anaesthesiology held at the French Study Center, La Suquette, Saint Vincent Ie Palue~ held three years before publication of this book. The organizers G. Barrier, J.F. Crul, and J. Lassner felt the need for a book publication presenting the state of the art of anaesthesia and the law in European countries. With the present book this plan has been realized. During the meeting many subjects were thoroughly discussed and the editor considered a number of them as very informative and therefore these were included in this book.

A - General legal aspects in different countries.- Legal aspects of anaesthesia mishaps in The Netherlands.- Legal basis of medical liability after anaesthesia mishaps in France.- Jurisprudential aspects of anaesthesia in France.- Medicolegal problems in the United Kingdom.- Frequency and causes of legal suits in relation to the general practice of anaesthesia in Sweden.- Legal liability suits after anaesthetic accidents in Germany.- B - Special medicolegal problems.- Awareness. A medico-legal problem.- Delayed respiratory effects of the administration of the new morphinomimetics.- Medico-legal consequences deriving from inquiries on the incidence of anaesthetic mishaps.- Problems of surgical and anaesthesiological abstinence: legal and ethical consequences.- Legal and ethical problems of anaesthesia for organ-transplantations.- Rules of procedure for anaesthesiologists in case of faults or (near) accidents.- Anaesthesiological responsibility for the day-care patient.- General conclusions.