Current Maltese Legal Approach p o l i c y
THE ARGUMENTS FOR EUTHANASIA AND ASSISTED DEATH: A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE FOREIGN AND LOCAL SCENE. With regards to the local scene, there are certain misconceptions as to whether suicide is a criminal offence or not under Maltese Law. Suicide and attempted suicide do not result in a criminal offence. However, providing assistance to commit the act is considered to be an offence punishable at law1. It is not evident whether the dolus directus of the patient wanting to die is a mitigating factor or not to lessen the punishment of who assisted the suicide. Although this proviso in the law looks quite straightforward, there is much more to it than one might actually believe. A number of questions arise with regards to scenarios where a Maltese Citizen provides assistance to a person who is not bound by Maltese jurisdiction and where such act is not deemed to go against local law. Courts do not have precedent to punish criminal offences which are committed outside Maltese territories even though the offence, in this case assisted suicide, is a crime against the person, a group of offences which include willful homicide and grievous bodily harm. The European Court of Human Rights has dealt with a number of end of life care cases within the past decade. Ironically, most cases dealt with the decriminalisation of assisted suicide in Member States which do not contradict with the right to life. This decriminalisation has led to sustaining the individual’s integrity which focused more 1 Article 213 of the Criminal Code states that ‘Whosoever shall prevail on any person to commit suicide or shall give him any assistance, shall, if the suicide takes place, be liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 years.’
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