ECPC is very pleased to announce that the ‘Legal Network for Cancer Patients’ (LNCP) project, together with its members, has been officially endorsed by the ECPC Board.
LNCP project brings together a solid base of legal practitioners that aim to share their legal competences to the benefit of cancer patients on a volunteer basis. ECPC will now start to create an online platform where lawyers across Europe can exchange information and provide legal advice.
The initiative was introduced by Dan Cimpoeru, ECPC Board member and practicing lawyer, who aims at establishing a Pan-European network of volunteer legal practitioners that will reinforce the advocacy work of the ECPC and cancer patients with legal instruments.
What can the LNCP do?
1. Monitoring Compliance with the EU Legislation by the Member States
“Public Health” is regulated by art. 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. “Public Health” is a competence shared between Member States and the EU. EU legislation needs to be transposed into Member States’ national law by the deadline set out in the legislation. Often, national authorities experience considerable transposition difficulties and the law is not adequately implemented.
The LNCP will act as a „legal watchdog” in cases of doubtful transposition. ECPC Board might, at the request of the LNCP, adopt a position and make a statement on the issue at stake.
2. Defending Patients’ rights when EU Legislation is breached by the Member States
In 2014-2015, based on the art. 6 (1) of the European Directive 89/105/EEC of 21 December 1988, the Romanian Federation of Cancer Patients Associations (FABC), with my help, won 17 lawsuits against the Romanian government and now a number of 165 cancer patients are receiving medical treatment for free. This is a real example that we can build a national lawsuit based only on the EU rules. Starting from this, the LNCP could provide legal assistance for national NGOs.
3. Sharing Legal Best Practices
The Platform will allow practitioners to exchange best practices from action settlement to lawsuit litigation and communication around the cases taken to court.
4. An Online Health Library
Establish an online library with legal resources on health from various Member States. The LNCP members would translate into English the relevant extracts from national laws and download them on the ECPC website.
5. A Legal Professional Background for ECPC Positions
As an umbrella organization ECPC is often requested to express official positions on different papers/issues. ECPC positions would be stronger if legally documented. The LNCP lawyers will support ECPC advocacy work with legal arguments to reinforce some of its messages. LNCP will became a think tank generating ideas for the ECPC. For this purpose, the LNCP will organize working groups for studying different legal matters.
ECPC is delighted to have such an outstanding group of lawyers on board. We strongly believe that together, we can better represent cancer patients’ needs and speak up for their rights.
Meet ECPC Legal Network for Cancer Patients (LNCP) Team:
Dan Cimpoeru – Initiator
Association of Cancer Patients from Romania (FABC)
European Cancer Patient Coalition – Board Member
ROMANIA
dan.cimpoeru@ecpc.org/
Dan Cimpoeru is a doctor in Law and author of several scientific works and articles, including the book “MALPRACTICE”, a reference work in the Romanian publishing environment. As a lawyer, he has participated in the patient advocacy movement since 2007. He has worked with the Association of Cancer Patients from Romania and umbrella organizations, such as FABC and the Romanian Chronic Patients Alliance. From this position, he has represented the associations in front of the health authorities on various legal matters.
At the same time, Dan has been deeply involved in defending patients’ rights in court. In 2014-2015, based on the European Directive 89/105/EEC, he won 17 lawsuits against the Romanian government and, as a result, 165 cancer patients received medical treatment for free. As a consequence, the legislation was finally changed and, since October 2015, these medicines have been covered by the national health insurance system for all Romanian cancer patients. Dan is also a legal consultant and expert of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Konstantinos Apostolopoulos
Group of Volunteers Against Cancer – AgaliaZO, Municipality of Achaia – AGALIAZO
GREECE
Konstantinos Apostolopoulos is involved as an advocate for the Rights of Cancer Patients and for the relevant legal framework and policies. He is an active volunteer and member of the Scientific Committee at the “AGALIAZO” – Society of Volunteers’ against Cancer.
He is an Attorney at Law in Patras’ Bar Association – Greece and in Limassol Bar Association – Cyprus. He holds a BA Degree in Law, a BA Degree in Education and postgraduate studies – LLM in Criminology. He speaks Greek, English, Italian and German.
He has served as a legal advisor for the Greek Minister of National Defense, for the General Secretary of the Decentralized Government Administration and for Patras’ vice Mayor of Social Policy.
Other areas of experience: EU funded projects, project management, research, workshops, trainings, partnerships, public affairs/communications in public and private sector.
Roberto de Miro
Italian Federation of Volunteer-based Cancer Organizations – FAVO
ITALY
Roberto was born in Rome, Italy on 8th February 1964. After graduating from high school in humanities, between 1989-1994, Roberto visited Santiago de Compostela and completed a 100 miles walk, graduated magna cum laude in Law, specialized in Roman and Comparative Law, followed by the admission to the Bar and in 2006 at the High Courts. Roberto also been appointed teacher of Law and Economics in State High School. He is married and a proud father of a 10 years old daughter.
As a Lawyer, but also as a long term experienced carer to a family member who is a cancer patient, Roberto had the opportunity to concentrate on the psychosocial needs of cancer and other disability patients, to revenue existing laws on the matter (especially labor/bank and insurance law) and even to participate to the drafting of law reforms and Charts.
His commitment in advocacy for cancer patients is to demonstrate that the best interest of the patients and their carers resides in cooperation among the stakeholders: industry/public welfare/families/ health professionals/banks and insurers/employers. Law reforms are needed and critical to the issue, but Roberto also deems necessary to avoid any old-fashioned attitude of not necessary opposition – but for the cases in which a violated right needs to be reaffirmed.
Maurizio Campagna
Italian Federation of Volunteer-based Cancer Organizations – FAVO
ITALY
Maurizio Campagna is a specialist in healthcare and pharmaceutical areas. After graduating cum laude from Law School at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, he achieved a PhD in Public Law at the same University. He was a research fellow in Administrative Law at the Third University of Rome. He taught Public Law, Health Law and Policy, Social Service Law in public and private universities. Admitted to the Bar at the Court of Appeal in Rome, he gained professional experience in the field of healthcare facilities accreditation and payment system of outpatient clinical laboratory services.
He worked on medical liability, indirect healthcare, cross-border healthcare, and pharmaceutical distribution. He provides consulting services in the field of Health Law, Pharmaceutical Law and Healthcare organization for public and private organizations, professional and trade associations since 2007. He holds training courses for doctors, pharmacists and other health professionals in the field of professional liability. He organizes training courses for the staff of public and private health facilities. He is the author of several publications and articles on Health Law, Social Rights, Economic Regulation, Healthcare Organization.
His contributions have been published on the main network of the Italian health sector. He collaborates in the drafting of the Report on the welfare status of the cancer patient treated by F.A.V.O since 2014. He is Public Health Policy Specialist of ECPC (European Cancer Patient Coalition).
Elisabetta Iannelli
Italian Association of Cancer Patients, their families and friends – AIMaC
Italian Federation of Volunteer-based Cancer Organizations – FAVO
American Cancer Society ACS Global Cancer Ambassador for Italy
ITALY
Elisabetta Iannelli is a labour and welfare attorney as a background, at the age of 24, while being a law student and a bride-to-be, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Since then, she has been concentrated in counseling people with disabilities or otherwise discriminated.
As vice President of AIMaC, Elisabetta’s commitment has been focused on filling the knowledge gap between cancer patients and their rights. AIMaC produces tailored information for cancer patients, by means of more than 36 info points in hospitals, a celebrated website and many free publications. She is also a member of the National Observatory on Disparities in Cancer Treatments, which publishes a yearly “Report on the state of welfare and cancer care in Italy” (8th ed. 2016).
Elisabetta has been a founder and Secretary of Insieme contro il cancro, a non-profit foundation gathering for the first time in a country, both patients and medical oncologists in the aim to promote prevention, and to support the best cancer patient protection. She cooperated also with the Italian Ministry of Health, e.g. within the Alliance Against Cancer Network Steering Committee and, as a stakeholders’ representative, she contributed to the drafting, by the Ministry of Welfare, of relevant laws stating e.g. the right for employees with cancer or their family members to switch from full time to part time positions, as well as reverse according to their treatment needs and handicap.
In the past, Elisabetta has been a board member and Secretary of ECPC and a member of the ECL Working Group on Cancer Patients’ Rights.
Wendy Doyle
Solicitors
IRELAND
Wendy is an experienced lawyer with over 10 years experience in litigation, business law and other corporate matters. She holds a number of qualifications, including a Masters in European Law with a specialization in Human Rights Law, pensions law, employment law, commercial law and intellectual property law.
Prior to setting up her practice as a sole practitioner, Wendy worked for a top law firm in Ireland, William Fry Solicitors and also set up her own legal division in Deloitte. The company specializes in all areas of law with a particular focus on litigation and business law.
Wendy has previously volunteered in the Free Legal advice Centre and written a number of articles for various legal publications. She has also tutored on the Law Society of Ireland Professional Practice Courses.
Wendy has also been admitted to practice in England and Wales.
Nesrin Ozkaya
PEMBE HANIM NGO FOR SUPPORT TO CANCER PATIENTS & KINS
TURKEY
Nesrin Ozkaya has graduated from Nursing School in 1991, and School of Law (Istanbul) in 1999 in Turkey. She studied at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, prepared a graduation thesis about medical malpractice in 2008. Nesrin had been in USA as a guest student at Washington U. School of Law (St. Louis) for 3 months (took legal research course). She completed English courses (ESL) for 8 months in St. Louis, Missouri, as well as received second master’s degree on hospital management in 2010. She got her mediation certificate in 2014.
Serving Military Hospitals for 20 years, Nesrin retired and has started private lawyering practice. Since 2011, she has been lawyering on health law with NGS Law & Mediation Office. As a lecturer, Nesrin gives lessons within health law at various University programs (law, nursing, medicine, hospital management). She has been regularly invited to numerous of hospitals to provide trainings for health personnel about their responsibilities. Briefly, Nesrin has combined her two profession in one, i.e. health and law.
How to join ECPC LNCP?
If you would like to nominate a lawyer to be part of the LNCP, please send an email to dan.cimpoeru@ecpc.org/, including:
- Registration form (click here to download)
- Declaration of interest (click here to download)
- CV with a profile photo of the candidate