German Chamber Research Articles

Types of legal entities under public law in German doctrine and legislation

This article examines the concepts and types of legal entities under public law in German doctrine and legislation. The legal status of public legal entities is regulated by the provisions of the German Constitution, the German Civil Code, the Law on Administrative Procedures, the Law «On the Procedure for Consideration of Cases Under the Management of Administrative Bodies», the Law «On Administrative Courts». The author examines the issue of determining the criteria for the classification of legal entities, so legal entities under public law are created in an executive order, act to satisfy the public or public interest, have authority, operate in organizational and legal forms of an open type, are responsible for the activities of their officials, legal the regime of property has certain features, in particular, such property can be transferred for use by legal entities under public law. As a rule, legal entities under public law have a special scope of legal capacity, unlike legal entities under private law, in this regard, the article analyzes the doctrine of ultra vires. The author examines the procedure for creating legal entities under public law in Germany, the types of organizational and legal forms of legal entities under public law that carry out their activities in the form of a public corporation, public institution, public fund. The article considers the sources of property formation of legal entities under public law, in particular, it can be income from entrepreneurial activity, budget funds, contributions of members of public corporations, donations (for example, the German State Bank, the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Fund). The article considers four types of public corporations: territorial, united, personal, real. A feature of the activity of public corporations in Germany is the presence of membership, unlike public institutions.

Features of Vocalist Li Huiqiao’s Interpretation of Some Works by R. Strauss

. In the history of world music, there are many bright musical trends that stand out for their uniqueness and originality. One of these trends is German chamber vocal music, distinguished by its emotional depth and grace of performance. The greatness of this genre’s art has inspired many musicians around the world, including 20th-century Chinese performers, to interpret and recreate its sound. At fi rst glance, the Chinese musical tradition and German chamber music seem to be different in terms of aesthetic and cultural concepts, as well as unique musical instruments and performance techniques. However, it is in this contradiction and interaction that the vocal unique strength lies. Chinese performers of the 20th century, being outstanding musicians and artists of their time, not only refl ected the cultural heritage of their country, but also sought cultural enrichment through the perception of other musical traditions. It was in this context that they turned their attention to German chamber vocal music, whose value lies in its depth and emotional power.

Frank Martin’s mass for double choir a cappella in the discourse of comparative interpretation

Statement of the problem. The legacy of Frank Martin (1890–1974) has never been studied in Ukrainian musicology before, although his music is performed on many European stages. The absence in Ukrainian musicology of works devoted to the study of the style and peculiarities of the performance interpretation of the Swiss composer’s music actualises the need to study it as a holistic phenomenon in various discourses (socio-cultural, stylistic, performing) and to further popularise it among Ukrainian performers and listeners. This article develops a method of comparative interpretology. Recent research and publications. Foreign musicologists, including Z. Maldjieva, J. Kilgore, R. Glasmann, have repeatedly chosen F. Martin’s works as an object of study. However, a number of contemporary interpretations of F. Martin’s Mass for Double Choir a cappella by different choirs call for comparative analysis, which is absent in the works of both foreign researchers and Ukrainian musicologists. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the research. The purpose of the paper is to present an argument for the specifics of performance interpretations of the selected work by F. Martin based on rendering its artistic content using performing versions of the RIAS-Kammerchor (conducted by D. Royce) and The National Youth Choir of Great Britain (conducted by S. Layton) as a case study. The research methodology includes musicological analysis of the artistic content of music and the principles of comparative interpretation. Comparative analysis helps to identify peculiarities of different performances of the same work and their compliance with the author’s concept. Results and conclusions. In the Mass, one can find typical features of F. Martin’s early style, which boldly and organically combined the stylistic principles of music from different eras from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. Based on a comparative analysis of two performance interpretations of F. Martin’s Mass by the RIAS-Kammerchor and The National Youth Choir of Great Britain, we have specified the main features of their interpretation of the author’s artistic text. Thus, the German chamber choir fully saturates the texture of F. Martin’s Mass with the sound of professional voices, and the arrangement of details in its tone is filigree. The choir has a well-balanced timbre ensemble, the manner of its sound production is close to light, rounded, not burdened by excessive vibrato or excessive volume. The performance interpretation of F. Martin’s Mass by this choir is characterised by tempo dramaturgy appropriate to the composer’s intentions, large-scale climaxes and a penetrating, meaningful attitude to the canonical text. The performance of The National Youth Choir of Great Britain is marked by the ease of sound production that is characteristic of most European youth choirs. Their performance interpretation is characterised by a “romanticisation” of the spiritual content, a certain enthusiasm and sublimity that are not typical of the Mass genre. In our opinion, the performance version by the RIAS-Kammerchor under the baton of D. Royce corresponds to the composer’s intention to the maximum extent possible. The conductor’s interpretation is based on the principle of “al fresco”, on the one hand, and on the other hand, it impresses with its psychological detailing and subtle reproduction of spiritual imagery. It is this creative synthesis that forms the basis of the RIAS-Kammerchor’s reference performance of F. Martin’s Mass for double choir a cappella.

Transition from master craftsman to engineering degree

There is a great need for Master-Craftsmen who are highly valued in industry locally but are not afforded the same recognition as in Germany, so in order to encourage more applicants a bridging progression to a Bachelor’s degree should be devised. There are several paths to the education of engineers. Traditionally students of engineering attend secondary school from which they matriculate to a tertiary institution. In many countries candidates may opt to do an Associate degree articulating to a Bachelor’s degree. However, in some countries, it is possible to become an engineer without a traditional degree, usually in a more practically-oriented apprenticeship programme. In Britain for example, such candidates complete National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) in engineering while working at a company. NVQs typically range from Level 1 to Level 8, Levels 6 and 7 being equivalent to Bachelor’s and taught Master’s degrees respectively. In Germany, there is also an alternative qualification to the Bachelor’s degree, the more practically-oriented Meister (Master-Craftsman in English), both of which are equally recognized and respected professionally and are both pegged at Level 6 in the 8-Level German National Qualifications Framework (NQF). The MIC Institute of Technology has adopted a Master-Craftsman programme which is accredited by the German Chamber of Crafts and Trades. Candidates have to first complete the (trimester) Journeyman programme comprising three years, about 50% of which comprise industrial attachments/internships. Successful Journeyman graduates can progress to the Master-Craftsman qualification by completing an extra (trimester) year of study. This paper deals with the progression of Master-Craftsman graduates, through advanced placement, in a Bachelor of Technology programme. The Master-Craftsman curricula have to be mapped against a typical Bachelor of Technology programme to determine the gaps in mathematical, theoretical and other areas and mechanisms to fill any gaps.

Palace Networks at the Court of Carlos II: Maria Anna of Palatinate-Neuburg’s Confessor, Gabriel Pontifeser, and the Queen’s German Chamber (1690–1700)

The arrival in Madrid in 1690 of the future queen consort, Maria Anna of Palatinate-Neuburg (1667–1740), second wife of the Spanish king Carlos II (1661–1700), also brought about the establishment of an unofficial palace faction known as the German Chamber. Since the members of this faction were part of Maria Anna’s household, the analysis of their social activities gives insight into court practices during the last decade of Carlos II’s reign. This article intends to shed light on the new networks and agency of members of the German Chamber at the Madrid court, in particular, that of the queen’s confessor, Gabriel Pontifeser di Chiusa. By investigating the activities and new court practices within the queen consort’s household that enabled Pontifeser to build secure networks and achieve importance, the article reveals the significant power wielded by foreign courtiers at the Madrid court between 1690 and 1700.

Sartorius recognised for the quality of its vocational training

Sartorius has received the EINS Plus certificate from the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Hanover (IHK) for the company's vocational training offered to young people.

The Oldenburg Model of Vocational Education and Training for Sustainable Development. Design within the Model Test "Advanced Training to Become a Renewable Energies/Energy Efficiency Specialist (German Chamber of Crafts)"

This article presents the results of a three-year (Nov. 2010–Dec. 2013) model test that was part of the “Occupational Training for a Sustainable Development” program sponsored by the German Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training). It was conducted by the University of Oldenburg’s department of vocational training and business education jointly with the Bundestechnologiezentrum für Elektro- und Informationstechnik e. V. (BFE) (Federal Center for Electrical Engineering and Information Technology). The model test pursued two different, albeit connected research approaches: a concept-development and a theory-modelling approach. The first one successfully developed, implemented and evaluated the unique, flexible and modularized renewable energies/energy efficiency specialist advanced training as defined by §42a of the German Chamber of Crafts’ trade and crafts code. The second stream of theory-modelling complemented this by gaining well-founded insight that helps to describe and explain how exactly an occupational training works for sustainable development in professions operating in the energy sector.

From Small Auditor Dissatisfaction to Active Resistance: A Practice Theoretical Perspective on the 'Palace Revolt' in the German Auditing Profession

For decades the German auditing profession was governed under the relatively sedate supervision of two professional bodies the German Institute of Public Auditors (IDW) and the German Chamber of Public Auditors (WPK), both of whom worked in cooperation with the Federal Ministry responsible for these matters. This state of affairs was transformed, however, after wp.net, a third professional body, was set up in 2005 for small auditors and after it subsequently staged a takeover of the WPK, an event since termed a palace revolt by the media that reported on it. Based on a practice theoretical perspective, we trace the process that led up to these events. We show how the events are related to the context of practices pursued in the working environments of the audit industry where practices of smaller auditors and larger audit firms were ever more drifting apart, and how they are related to the profession as a whole. We highlight also the role played by the successful implementation of the peer review in the German audit profession for the course of the events. Finally, we discuss some important implications that might follow from these unique events for current developments in accounting/professions worldwide.

Access to brain death diagnostics

In Germany the diagnosis of brain death must strictly adhere to the expert guidelines of the German chamber of physicians. For patients with primary supratentorial or hypoxic brain injury aged 2 years or more, repeat clinical examinations or one complete examination combined with an ancillary test are equally accurate. This study aimed to identify factors with potential impact on whether and by which means a formal brain death examination is pursued. A retrospective analysis was carried out of recorded data of all patients who died in the acute phase after severe brain injury during mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit and who were registered at the north east regional bureau of the German organ procurement organization (Deutsche Stiftung Organtransplantation) between 2001 and 2010. Of 5988 reported patients, a protocol-specified brain death examination was initiated in 3023, leading to a diagnosis of brain death in 2592. All other patients died due to permanent cardiac arrest. Patients were less likely to undergo brain death examinations in the presence of one or more of the following characteristics: perceived medical contraindication for organ donation, patient age greater than 69 years, hypoxic brain damage, treatment in a hospital without neurological and neurosurgical departments and death on a weekend or public holiday. In 2192 patients (72.5%), neurologists or neurosurgeons participated in the diagnostic procedures and in 926 of these cases members of specialized external diagnostic expert teams were involved. Ancillary tests were rarely used by physicians based at the treating hospitals (31.1%) but on a regular basis by members of the external teams (93.4%). The risk of death due to permanent cardiac arrest before completion of the brain death examination was increased approximately 7-fold when a neurological or neurosurgical consultation with ancillary studies was not performed. Access to neurological expertise and to ancillary tests has a significant impact on the provision of guideline-specified diagnostic procedures for suspected brain death. Centralized diagnostic teams offer an effective means to support qualified brain death examinations.

Visceral medical cases of damage: an analysis of 2763 cases of visceral medical damage of the arbitration agency for questions of medical liability of the north german chamber of physicians

This analysis of visceral medical claims from 2000 - 2009 of the Arbitration Agency for Questions of Medical Liability of the North German Chamber of Physicians can offer advice for error prevention and quality assurance. It provides information on concerned patients and physicians, reproach behaviour, fault priorities and liability. The latter is given in treatment-related error-caused damage (substantiating liability causality 1). Causality is liability excluding if the damage is related to treatment, but not error caused (causality 2) or disease caused (causality 3). 2.763 visceral medical damage cases were selected from 26.474 arbitration cases of the mentioned 10 years by means of ICD-10 codes. Differentially often they concerned almost all medical specialties. In patients affected the peak incidence was at equal gender proportions in the second half of working age. The intestine was affected most often. The 2763 claims accounted for 5.530 patient's reproaches. At 61 % error-free cases 1954 established treatment errors distributed to 39 % of faulty cases. 840 (30 %) cases corresponded to liability establishing causality 1. Of these 363 (43 %) cases with faulty operational measures were listed only for comparative purposes. Extensively studied were 345 (41 %) cases with faulty conservative measures and 132 (16 %) cases with errors in connection with endoscopicmeasures. The conservative measures group most commonly affected was with 52 % diagnosis, general diagnostics, medical history, physical examination as well as differential- and further diagnosis accounted for 20 % each. In 66 % omissions and in 34 % faulty implementation had caused damage, 77 % of a transient nature, 16 % permanent and 7 % fatal. In the context of endoscopies 58 % faulty implementations and 42 % omissions had led to 60 % with transient damage and to permanent and fatal damage in 20 % each. Only one quarter of the errors concerned the endoscopic examination itself, three quarters concerned accompanying measures, most frequently complication management. Claims were well founded in 30 % of the arbitration cases, 15 % of patient's reproaches and 43 % of treatment errors. The results allow the encouraging knowledge that most error-caused damage did not occur in the complex, technically sophisticated medical interventions but rather were caused by avoidable failures in daily clinical and practical routine, and therefore could be prevented.

Enhancing Canadian‐German partnerships in the mining industry

AbstractThe German industry is highly dependent on imports of metals and industrial minerals. The Canadian mineral resources market offers long term resource supply security that Germany needs, especially for strategic metals. Germany, in return, provides market‐leading equipment and specialty services that can help to meet the challenges of the Canadian mining industry today. On the initiative and with funding of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the Canadian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce Inc. in 2012 established a Competence Centre for Mining and Mineral Resources to foster business relationships between Canada and Germany in the mining sector.

President's Page:IADC Pride: The Global Connection

While attending the recent 2013 International Corporate Counsel College (ICCC) in Paris, I enjoyed a post-dinner conversation with ICCC attendees and colleagues in our host hotel. It was approaching midnight and the end of the night was drawing near, or so I thought. The time in Charleston was six hours behind the time in Paris, of course, so I began receiving text messages from my daughter regarding her social plans for the night. Thirty minutes and about thirty text messages later, we had solved all of the pending issues in her plans. Still, it struck me how instantly she and I were able to cure a host of competing issues from two separate continents six time zones apart. At times like this, the significance of the IADC's Global Connection becomes crystal clear. Today, with the help of instant communication, teleconferencing and enhanced travel options, the international legal landscape is interconnected and essentially flat. The IADC's international footprint now covers thirty-seven countries and is growing at a pace similar to that of international commerce in general. As time and communication continue to speed up, the IADC's Global Connection becomes a more vital part of our organization's culture and our individual legal practices. The 2013 ICCC in Paris demonstrated the growing influence of a world economy on our practices. Fifty-six attorneys hosted sixty-three in-house counsel from Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland, England, Italy, Norway, Australia, China, France, Turkey and the United States. Indeed, the total attendance at the 2013 ICCC of 146 represents our largest ICCC to date. Through the dedicated efforts and leadership of ICCC Director Emmanuele Lutfalla and the members of the Advisory Board, attendees of the ICCC benefited from exceptional quality programming. During the conference, attendees participated in two days of education and discussion on the latest legal issues and challenges affecting global companies. Presentations were of the highest caliber with prestigious speakers who shared their expertise on a variety of pertinent international issues. Additionally, we heard from the Chairman and Executive Director of the European Justice Forum, a representative of the U.S. Chamber, the U.S. representative for the German Chamber of Commerce and the Chair of the Autorite des Marches Financiers. In the words of Alexandre Lamoure, General Counsel for Ricoh, France: I was struck by the exceptional quality of all the speakers and attendees. In particular, I was impressed by the international aspect of the exchange. Furthermore, in my own position as General Counsel, I have always been drawn to defence and litigation counsel and their approach to legal matters within a business context. I admire their pragmatism. Christopher Gaenzle, Chief Administrative Officer & General Counsel INC Research in Raleigh, North Carolina, noted: The 2013 ICCC was a robust event and provided not only the opportunity for in-house counsel to connect and share experiences with each other, it also provided a platform for outside counsel to directly hear from corporate counsel about their highest priorities for corporate legal departments. This is a true value-add program, all in a forum that promotes open conversation and connection directly between in-house counsel and also between in-house and outside counsel on significant areas of risk mitigation, compliance and litigation. As corporate counsel there are often too few opportunities to interact, but the ICCC is the exception. Today's complex and integrated world has made the ICCC a critical resource for international companies and their counsel. The 2014 ICCC will be organized by 2014 Director Alessandro Giorgetti and will be in Milan, Italy in November. I am confident those attending will benefit greatly. We continue to work diligently to broaden our reach around the world and to bring quality resources to our international membership. …

Wahrung ethischer und berufsrechtlicher Grundsätze in der Ästhetischen Chirurgie – Aufgabe der Selbstverwaltung oder staatlicher Kontrolle?

In the future medicine will become more and more involved in fields that are not principally concerned with curing illnesses. Against the background of an obviously increasing demand for aesthetic interventions, questions arise concerning the self-assessment of the physician and his/her ethical behaviour in this segment of medical services. The necessary rules of behaviour have frequently been formulated, in particular by the professional societies. In the meantime the German chamber of physicians has established ethically founded requirements on the basis of professionalism. These and the therein formulated principles of medical responsibility provide a solid foundation for the ethically justifiable and quality assured performance of aesthetic surgical interventions.

Measurement of vocational competences: an analysis of the structure and reliability of current assessment practices in economic domains

Both fostering and measuring action competence remain central targets of vocational education and training research; adequate measurement approaches clearly are prerequisites for international, large-scale assessments. For the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, competence assessments of industrial managers rely mainly on final examinations that attempt to measure not just knowledge but also action competence. To evaluate this test instrument, this article considers two questions: (1) Can the test assess action competence with validity, and (2) how reliable are the corresponding assessment results? The study relied on statistical procedures (e.g., IRT scaling), applied empirically to a sample of 1,768 final examinations. As a result the current examination appears neither adequate nor accurate as an instrument to capture action competence. We conclude that several improving steps have to be undertaken to improve the economic assessment.

INVESTMENTS OF GERMAN MNES INTO PRODUCTION NETWORKS IN CENTRAL EUROPEAN AND BALTIC STATES / VOKIETIJOS TARPTAUTINIŲ BENDROVIŲ INVESTICIJOS Į GAMYBOS TINKLUS VIDURIO EUROPOS IR BALTIJOS ŠALYSE

In the first part of the paper, which is dedicated to the theories related to MNEs, strategic management, FDI and global production networks, a variety of theoretical and empirical literature is examined. The main ideas related to MNEs and FDI are based on Dunning, whereas Dicken and Mellahi contributed to the topics related to strategic management and global production networks. Furthermore papers of the European Investment Bank (EIB) about the internationalisation of production in Europe give some basic ideas. Many other scholars are used to illustrate the topic as well. In the empirical part data from sources such as the German Central Bank, EU, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the German chamber of commerce (DIHK) will be analyzed together with academic papers of various writers like Marin or Nordas. Santrauka Vokietijos tarptautinių bendrovių investicijos į gamybos tinklus naujose ES narėse Vidurio Europoje bei Baltijos šalyse pasiskirsto labai netolygiai, todėl pagrindinis šio tyrimo tikslas – nustatyti pagrindinius veiksnius, lemiančius Vokietijos investicijas šiose šalyse. Autoriai naudoja aprašomąją statistiką bei regresinę analizę verslo aplinkoms skirtingose šalyse palyginti ir nustatyti jų poveikį tiesioginių užsienio investicijų mastui. Tyrimo metu nustatyta, kad Vokietijos investicijose ištirtas šalis dominuoja vertikalios investicijos, o daugiausia jų pritraukia Čekijos Respublika, Vengrija ir Slovakija dėl palankios investicijų skatinimo politikos, pakankamos vidutinės kvalifikacijos darbo jėgos, lankstesnes darbo politikos, geografinės padėties ir kitų veiksnių.

Diagnose des Hirntodes: Grenzen der Angiographie nach osteoklastischer Trepanation

A 50-year-old man sustained severe skull-brain trauma with intracerebral bleeding, cortical contusion foci and fracture of the petrosal bone. He went into coma a few hours after the accident. Three days after surgical removal of an intracerebral bleeding via a frontoparietal osteoclastic trepanation (removal of a 4 x 5 cm piece of bone) there occurred complete brainstem areflexia, respiratory arrest and drop in temperature; the encephalogram was isoelectric. There was thus no clinical-neurological doubt of brain death. But cranial digital subtraction angiography, generally considered to give the most reliable evidence of irreversible loss of cerebral functions, showed contrast medium in the branches of the left cerebral artery. The diagnostic criteria of brain death, as proposed by the Federal German Chamber of Physicians (Bundesärztekammer), were thus not exactly met, and despite the clinically obvious brain death a contemplated removal of organs for transplantation was therefore not undertaken. The patient died 6 hours after the angiography. This case shows that the value of angiography for the diagnosis of brain death may sometimes be limited, at least in those cases in which osteoclastic trepanation has been performed or there are other causes for a skull defect, because they can prevent the rise of intracranial pressure which brings about the cerebral circulatory arrest.

Cost analysis of a bone bank

The costs of a bone-bank working in accordance with the guidelines of the german federal chamber of physicians are described. Establishing a bone-bank storing deep-frozen bone is not very expensive. The main costs are due to laboratory costs for excluding HIV, hepatitis, syphilis and bacterial contamination of bone grafts. In our experience with 206 bone grafts about 20% of them are to be discharged because of positive laboratory tests. The costs of each bone graft are DM 327. A second HIV-Test of the donor 3 months after explantation of a bone graft will cause rising of costs up to 47%. About 20-30% of bone graft donors will probably not carry out this test. In this case discharging of the bone graft is necessary.

Einfluss europäischer Regulativa auf Qualität, Sicherheit und Verfügbarkeit allogener Zell- und Gewebetransplantate in Deutschland

The transplantation of allogenic tissue (bone, cartilage, tendon, skin, amnion and special preparations such as demineralised bone matrix and acellular dermis) is an important component of the treatment of bone and soft tissue defects, particularly in traumatology and orthopaedic, reconstructive and plastic surgery. In Germany, the requirement for such tissue transplants is met by supply from local tissue banks (in particular bone banks) and a small number of regional and national tissue banks. These banks operate on the basis of the "Guidelines for Bone Banks" laid down by the German Chamber of Physicians, and of the German Drug Law (AMG). The 2004/23/EG guidelines issued by the European Parliament and ratified on 31/3/2004 define the quality and safety standards for the donation, procurement, testing, processing, preservation, storage and distribution of human tissues and cells. These guidelines will have a major impact on all aspects of tissue banking and transplantation. In particular, the new guidelines will remove the possibility for local tissue banks to operate outside of national drug laws ( section sign 4 a [4]). The currently in draft law on "Quality and Safety of Human Tissues and Cells" ("Tissue Law") of the Federal Health Ministry seems to be heading in this direction, but it also includes possibilities for the continuation of local banks. An additional European guideline draft "Proposal for the regulation of advanced therapeutic medical products" is currently under discussion. This paper assesses the impact of these new pieces of legislation on the quality, safety and availability of human cell and tissue transplants in terms of the current situation and future prospects in Germany.

L’autre Allemagne dans l'Allemagne unifiée. Réflexions sur l'unification allemande (Note)

The serious economic problems that the unified Germany has to face — as must other industrialized countries - cannot by themselves account for the growing disenchantment that is perceptible in the New Länder, where the utopian dreams of the fall of 1989 have been steadily unravelling. Why is it that the people of the GDR, who had pushed aside the lethargy of politicians in order to impose a speedy unification of the two German states, now seem to be adopting a radical attitude of defiance towards the federal government ? The author postulates that, in implementing the unification process, people overestimated the capability of the West German federal model to integrate the territories of the GDR and underestimated the permanence of the political consciousness specific to East German citizens, the weight of their historical experience, and their profound yearning to assume their destiny within a unified Germany. Had an autonomous East German chamber been created, with a time-limited mandate, it might have been possible to give meaning to the collective quest for identity now being expressed in the New Länder, a quest which for the time being, and in the absence of any alternative, finds an outlet in a party incarnating the region's specificity - the PDS.

Flüssigkeitsverzicht

Three case histories are presented, in which terminal hydration was omitted. Two patients were in the terminal phase of a menigiosis carcinomatosa and Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, the third was completely aphasic and hemiplegic after ischemic stroke. All three died peacefully without signs of suffering or thirst. The psychological aspects of therapeutic-palliative change and the archetypical horror of death are considered. The moral justification is discussed in relation to the "Principles for Physicians Accompanying the Dying" of the German chamber of physicians. The respect of the patient's will is the guiding principle. These ethical controversies should be discussed sincerely and frankly so that the society is enabled to follow.