Assisted suicide and euthanasia in Europe: a foray through current developments from an Austrian perspective

This article examines different European perspectives on the issue of euthanasia. It first analyses the legal framework at the European level, with particular attention to the relevant provisions and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. It then turns to Austria as a case study, which has adopted new legislation on the right to die following the jurisprudence of the Austrian Constitutional Court, and examines the legal regime governing assisted suicide and its interaction with other areas of law, in particular criminal law. Finally, the article offers a comparative analysis of selected European legal systems, contrasting their normative approaches with the case law of the ECHR and with the Austrian model.