Viața persoanei și protejarea dreptului la viață prin mijloace de drept penal. Reflecții
Life of a Person and the Protection of the Right to Life through Penal Means. Reflections

Summary/Abstract: In the Romanian Criminal Code, life of a person is the most important value, and it is protected against all injuries originating from any other person. Life is not an attribute of a person, but the person itself. Legislation admits that humans have the right to life, but this right does not include the right to be born, neither the right to die. In our criminal law, the fetus has not the right to life and a pregnant woman has the sovereign right to decide if she will give birth to her child or not. A pregnant woman herself can interrupt the course of pregnancy, or inflict any harm to fetus during the pregnancy, in any conditions and she will not be punished by the law. Birth and death are marking the lifetime of a person who can dispose of its dead body in the same conditions as disposed of the body during the lifetime. Attempt of suicide is not punished by the Romanian Criminal Law, and at the same time, it does not permit the euthanasia. European Convention of Human Rights does not include any obligation for the states to facilitate or permit the death of a person. In conclusion, in our days, the right to life does not include the right to be born or the right to die. After the death of a person, its dead body must be treated respectfully, and people must cherish the memory of a deceased person. Any desecration of a dead body will be punished, but the dead body represents only the material object of the crime of desecration. The penal protection is provided for the deceased person whose body must be treated respectfully.

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