In Quebec, recent amendments to the Civil Code now permit nontherapeutic experimentation on both minors and incompetent adults where substitute consent has been obtained. Although permitting nontherapeutic research to be conducted in relation to these vulnerable populations, the Quebec legislature has nevertheless implemented the principle of inviolability by entrenching strong safeguards against potential abuse and exploitation. The Civil Code provisions require, for example, not only substitute consent, but also prior approval of an experiment by either a court or an ethics committee; however, the imprint of the principle of inviolability is most evident in the emphasis on the absence of "serious risk" as a precondition for participation in experimentation. The implementation of the new provisions in Quebec will attract a considerable amount of scrutiny elsewhere in Canada with a view to determining if they do establish effective safeguards for the subjects of biomedical experimentation. The long tradition of commitment to the principle of personal inviolability in Quebec jurisprudence suggests that the new legislation will be implemented only in very specific and limited circumstances. 86 footnotes