Hey, you know that question has been floating around on that, and a few other issues, where that has come into question....so, here's my two cents.....'Liberals' love to cite rights, as their basis for a lot of their behaviors, so in the blur of political correctness, some things get obscured .... When your 'will' infringes on some one else's 'rights', somebody has crossed the line. In America the guideline used to be the Constitution to define those lines....I say 'used to be' because depending on one's subscribed political agenda, they seem to cherry pick the Constitution, when convenient, and wishing other parts would just go away...when in actuality, the different provisions(amendments) were considered to be integral to making the WHOLE thing work together....sorta like to keep us all in balance...including room for the people to take whatever action needed to fix or replace their government, in any way THEY saw fit.

Now, growing up in that, along with everyone else sets up a mindset, which may not be as dominant in your country, as ours, but you seemed to be quite 'in touch' with most of it...if not all......so, back to the question on hand, the above in mind....

In our Constitution, which, as I said, 'used to be' our prime law, we are supposed to be guaranteed, without government impediments, of which we are all collectively supposed to be, 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness'...

..OK, that is supposed to be the law.

Now, where the source of the conflict lays, is at what point can a doctor, or business, make a concerned decision, AND on what basis, to release private information, and breach doctor/patient privilege...even if means possibly safeguarding the lives of others...and keeping in mind that hindsight is usually 20/20...and inaccurate speculation can pose 'inconvenient consequences'...even to the point of infringing others rights, over a 'false flag'(Read: The boy that cried wolf), to the point of irresponsibility.

So, it depends on the mindset of the holder of the information...
Examples: If you are a doctor, in their oath they took, as doctors, there is a phrase that implies that they do no harm(health wise), to their patients...in fact, anyone.
Example: If you're a business, such, as in the airline, your primary concern is to safely transport people, minimize expenditures, make as much profit as possible, and not get sued.
Example: If you are a family of a loved one that went down, you are devastated, it is if, a part of your own life went down with them.
Example: If you're a radical Islamic, they were all martyrs, who were killed by an infidel pilot.
...and believe it or not, that's what is going on, within the mindsets, and cultural societies that people are accustomed to..how they inter-act..so on and so forth.

IN our primary law, the Constitution, was written to address, the mindset, of white, Europeans, who fled Europe, to get away from a monarchy/religious system, and give the governing power to the people. This was able to be done, because Europe was basically working around a Judaeo/Christian point of reference, incorporated loosely into their social fabric...also, the forerunner of the Constitution was the Magna Carta, in regards to governing and rights....all that being said, to contrast, let's say, coming from an Islamic social fabric mindset. (NOTE: I am only using the Islamic social culture, to illustrate the fact that 'common sense' may differ from culture to culture, and therefore one culture may not understand that not only do they not see eye to eye, they may see each other as a threat, or even an enemy...and therefore a wariness, and distrust...OK, enough of that illustration.

Now all the different cultural mindsets are going to have different priorities...However, in the case of the pilot and doctor, IF the doctor was aware that Mr.Lubitz's psychological condition included suicidal thoughts, to some degree or another, and a medical examination was a part, or condition, of him possessing a commercial pilot's license, or international pilot's license pilot's license, as a prerequisite to pilot, then it would be the obligation of the doctor, to advise Mr.Lubitz, that he would notify the company, or even the issuer of such said license, that his activities should be suspended, until further evaluation and/or treatment determines his capabilities.

Now the reason I went into the various 'mindsets', is that one might argue that the doctor was either negligent, or misdiagnosed, or under-evaluated Mr.Lubitz....OR, the doctor may have felt restrained from violating Mr.Lubitz patient/doctor confidentiality privilege.

If you are considering the airline's point of view, they are going to do everything possible to shift blame onto the doctor...thereby avoiding as much liability as possible.

If you are just a concerned western citizen, puzzled, then you may think, depending on your cultural point of reference, that somebody should have said something to prevent this from happening, and see it as 'common sense' versus the 'right to privacy'.

To the family and friends, they will approach this from an emotional point of view, perhaps to the extent of being co-victims, and feelings of their rights being ignored.

And, of course, if you were approaching this from a radical Islamist's point of view, you'd be out to avenge the martyrs, and take revenge on the infidel....regardless of mitigating circumstances.

Soooo, all those factors would have to be considered(maybe except the last one, if it doesn't apply) before a 'legal opinion' could be reached.

Personally, if the doctor was aware that Mr.Lubitz posed a risk to himself, or others, and said nothing to the agency that qualifies pilots, based on abilities and medical evaluations, based on privacy concerns', and/or the company that employed Mr.Lubitz, then I would say not only was his sense of 'civil rights' out of balance, but so was his obligation to what he felt was a conflict of interest, and that guidelines to clarify his priorities, as to whom he is serving, made perfectly clear, before further action could be taken.

So, not enough is known, at this time.....which doesn't bring any comfort to the loved ones left behind.

Just my first thoughts on the matter....

GfS