Vincent Lambert, Dignity in Dying and the European Court: A Critical Evaluation and the Global Reflections

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.R. Kishore
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Vegetative State ◽  
Persistent Vegetative State ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Artificial Nutrition ◽  
Right To Die ◽  
Artificial Nutrition And Hydration ◽  
European Court ◽  
The Face

In this article I analyse the verdict of the European Court of Human Rights in the Case of Lambert and Others v. France, delivered on 5 June 2015, affirming the Conseil d’État’s decision holding that the withdrawal of artificial nutrition and hydration from Vincent Lambert, a French national lying in tetraplegia and persistent vegetative state, was consistent with French domestic law and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. In order to make a comparative evaluation I give an account of judicial decisions across the world and find that the European Court’s decision is an affirmative pronouncement, in the prevailing milieu of judicial heterogeneity, as it recognizes a person’s right to die with dignity in the face of conflicting claims and arguments, by giving supremacy to a person’s autonomy and right of self-determination over the deep-rooted religious beliefs and undue paternalistic postures. I conclude that right to die with dignity is a profound area where judge-made law is not the answer. The situation calls for greater consensus and uniformity by evolving suitable legislative strategies.

scholarly journals Prawo do naturalnego i godnego umierania

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 221
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Orzeszyna
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Case Law ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Artificial Nutrition ◽  
Artificial Nutrition And Hydration ◽  
The Right To Privacy ◽  
Judicial Practice ◽  
European Court ◽  
The Right

<p>The article addresses the issue of the right to natural and dignified dying in the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights. The right to life enshrined in Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights is currently balanced in judicial practice with the right to privacy. The right to effectively demand inflicting death is usually located in the sphere of autonomous human decisions. However, not only is the construction of such a right contrary to the principle of dignity of every person, but it would erode the guarantees vested in any terminally-ill person. The analysis of Strasbourg’s case-law setting a common standard for the ECHR Member States does not make it possible to assume the existence of the right to death as a subjective right of an individual. In the area of the protection of human life, States are obliged to take positive action. That relatively established case-law was clearly modified in the case <em>Lambert and others v. France</em>, as the Court crossed the red line in favour of passive euthanasia, accepting the vague French procedural rules recognizing artificial nutrition and hydration of the patient as a form of therapy that may be discontinued.</p>

scholarly journals Common, Difficult Questions about Providing Nutrition at End of Life: Bedside Application of Catholic Moral Teaching

2020 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-130
Author(s):  
John J. Raphael ◽  
Michael A. Vacca ◽  
Annmarie Hosie ◽  
Natalie Rodden ◽  
Ashley K. Fernandes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Vegetative State ◽  
Persistent Vegetative State ◽  
Feeding Tube ◽  
Artificial Nutrition ◽  
Artificial Nutrition And Hydration ◽  
Her Family ◽  
Nutrition And Hydration ◽  
Dying Patient ◽  
Specific Scenario

There is much confusion surrounding how to interpret provision of artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH) at the bedside in complicated clinical circumstances. The specific scenario that prompted these questions was a request by a patient and her family to remove a feeding tube that had become, in the patient’s eyes and opinion, disproportionately burdensome in her particular set of clinical circumstances. This clinically relevant article can be viewed as a bedside interpretation of Catholic bioethical teachings on provision of ANH to the dying patient. Please note that this article does not address specific ethical issues that pertain to persistent vegetative state, which is beyond the scope of this particular discussion.

Reforming the European Court of Human Rights: An Ongoing Challenge

2007 ◽  
Vol 76 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 185-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Costas Paraskeva
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Exponential Growth ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Case Load ◽  
European Court ◽  
Major Reform

AbstractThe European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) plays a unique and central role in upholding human rights in Europe, but in recent years has experienced a huge increase in its workload. The exponential growth in the number of individual applications has and continue to pose a serious threat for the effectiveness of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) system and it can be argued that it is the biggest challenge the ECtHR has been faced with in its history. Despite the substantial increase in its productivity and its output in general, the caseload continues to rise considerably, putting the effectiveness and credibility of the ECHR system in serious danger. Even with the reform of Protocol No. 11 that the ECtHR went through in 1998, its caseload had continued to rise sharply. The need for a second major reform was stressed only a few years after the drastic reform of 1998. There have been various efforts to make the ECtHR more effective and accessible, which have led to the 2004 "reform package" of measures that address the issue of ECtHR's excessive case-load, including Protocol No. 14 to the ECHR. This article provides analysis and critical evaluation of the ongoing efforts to reform the ECtHR in order to guarantee its long-term effectiveness.

4. Right to life and freedom from ill-treatment

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernadette Rainey
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Death Penalty ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Right To Die ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Right To Life ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
European Court ◽  
The Right

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter focuses on the right to life and freedom from ill-treatment, considered the two most fundamental human rights premised on the idea of the inherent dignity of human beings. The chapter examines the right to life as elucidated in Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), along with the ECHR’s positive obligations. It also highlights exceptions in Article 2(2) and the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) adjudication on controversial issues as to when life begins and ends, including abortion, the right to die, and the death penalty. The chapter then examines Article 3 and the interpretation of the Article by the ECtHR. In addition, the chapter looks at the UK’s approach to freedom from ill-treatment and the right to life, and concludes with a discussion of the scope of Article 3 with regard to freedom from ill-treatment.

Washington State Initiative 119: The First Public Vote on Legalizing Physician-Assisted Death

1993 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. McGough
Keyword(s):  
Vegetative State ◽  
Persistent Vegetative State ◽  
Terminal Condition ◽  
Washington State ◽  
Artificial Nutrition ◽  
Artificial Nutrition And Hydration ◽  
Assisted Death ◽  
Aid In Dying ◽  
Dramatic Shift ◽  
Definition Of

In the fall of 1991, voters in Washington state were asked to consider a public initiative that sought to legalize physician-assisted death: Initiative 119. Drafted by Washington Citizens for Death with Dignity, the initiative was intended to amend the existing state natural death act in several ways:1) expand the definition of “terminal condition” to include patients in irrevers ible coma or persistent vegetative state;2) specifically name “artificial nutrition and hydration” as life-sustaining medical procedures that could be refused or withdrawn;3) legally allow mentally competent patients with certifiably terminal conditions to request and receive “aid-in-dying” from their physician as a medical service.The first two proposed amendments were widely acknowledged as timely and appropriate; a coalition of medical, religious, and community organizations had been actively working on such additions for several years. It was the proposal to legalize “aid-in-dying,” however, that represented a radical shift in the conduct of physicians towards their patients and a dramatic shift in social policy.

scholarly journals The Reception of the ECHR in National Legal Orders

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alec Stone Sweet ◽  
Helen Keller
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
European Court ◽  
Intractable Problems ◽  
The Face ◽  
New Institutions

This chapter begins by discussing the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Established in 1953, the ECHR created a basic catalogue of rights binding on the signatories, and new institutions charged with monitoring and enforcing compliance. The ECHR has since evolved into an intricate legal system. The High Contracting Parties have steadily upgraded the regime's scope and capacities, in successive treaty revisions. They have added new rights, enhanced the powers of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), and strengthened the links between individual applicants and the regime. Today, the Court is an important, autonomous source of authority on the nature and content of fundamental rights in Europe. In addition to providing justice in individual cases, it works to identify and to consolidate universal standards of rights protection, in the face of wide national diversity and a steady stream of seemingly intractable problems. The methodology used to analyze the case studies presented in the subsequent chapters is described.

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