Criminal Law Developments in Admissibility of Assisted Suicide

On 26 February 2020, the German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesver- fassungsgericht) delivered a judgement, declaring § 217 (prohibition of assisted suicide services) of the German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch) void. Both the disputed prohibition as well as the judgement, recognising it for uncon- stitutional, sparked an intense dispute in the general and professional pub- lic alike, unveiling its fragile moral and ethical basis making this dilemma so politically intriguing. The authors present the theoretical dogma and relevant circumstances of the judgement, stressing its applicability in Slovene crimi- nal law, where such debates over the current criminal regulation of assisted suicide, execution by demand and euthanasia are being called into question regularly, fuelled by opposing political beliefs.

Keywords: Slovenia, Germany, manslaughter, suicide, euthanasia, Strafgesetzbuch.