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.