Assisted Suicide in the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights: A Matter of Life and Death

Abstract

The right to life as a fundamental human right is unquestionable. However, both law and society recognize that there might exist some cases where allowing an individual to die might be the most humane option. This chapter examines the current legal situation with respect to the issue of assisted suicide , as this is reflected in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) with respect to the issue of euthanasia and the reasoning behind it. However, reflecting the variety of approaches to assisted suicide within the European context, the Court chose to avoid any general pronouncements as to the legality or not of permitting assisted suicide. Thus, although finding that the prohibition of assisted suicide was permitted under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), it did not consider it either necessary or appropriate to rule on the reverse situation. Keywords:assisted suicide; European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR); European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR); euthanasia; Jurisprudence