Namowa i pomoc do samobójstwa w polskim i austriackim prawie karnym – rozważania komparatystyczne
Abetting and aiding in suicide in Polish and Austrian criminal law – a comparative study

Summary/Abstract: Every year more than 700 000 people die worldwide by committing suicide. Suicide is an important phenomenon – not only in the social but also in the legal sphere. Progress in many areas of life, including medicine and computer science, led to increased complexity in suicide legislation. Legal regulations must take into account inter alia an occurrence of euthanasia, assisted suicide and cybersuicide. The form of the regulation of participation in suicide by the criminal law system can vary. The subject of this paper is a comparative consideration of abetting and aiding in suicide in Polish and Austrian criminal law. This study aims to identify similarities and differences between regulations. The research includes analysis of the statutory features of a basic type of this crime contained in Polish and Austrian legal provisions with particular reference to the subject, subjective side of an offence, object and objective side of an offence. Reference is also made to the criminal sanctions and the statistical data. The discussion is concluded with a comparison of Polish and Austrian provisions and an indication of the similarities and differences between regulations. The main conclusion of this paper is that regulations of abetting and aiding in suicide in Polish and Austrian law show common and different features and that after the expected legal change in Austria law may not respond to social needs. The analysis is based on views of legal dogmatics and judicial practice. The paper was written based on Polish and foreign source materials.

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