As early as 1900, the order to the heads of clinics, polyclinics and other hospitals issued by the Minister of Ecclesiastical, Educational and Medical Affairs stated that medical experiments on humans are only permitted if the persons concerned have given their consent to participate and this declaration was preceded by proper information on the adverse consequences that may result from the intervention. The basic principle of informed consent has been part of research ethics ever since. However, individual aspects of this basic principle continue to be under discussion, such as the question of what conditions a person must meet in order to give informed consent or which actions a person can and cannot consent to. On the historical development and the theoretical foundation of informed consent, see Faden / Beauchamp 1986.