IZAZOVI I KOMPLEKSNOST NORMATIVNOG UREĐENJA EUTANAZIJE I POTPOMOGNUTOG SAMOUBOJSTVA
CHALLENGES AND COMPLEXITY OF THE NORMATIVE REGULATION OF EUTHANASIA AND ASSISTED SUICIDE

Summary/Abstract: Euthanasia and assisted suicide are undoubtedly phenomena that provoke a series of controversies, discussions, and divergent viewpoints in many scientific fields today. Given its controversial nature, there are numerous and diverse ethical, theological, political, medical, and particularly legal aspects of euthanasia. Discussions about its universal decriminalization and legal regulation are primarily based on fundamental human rights and the protection of these rights in various international and national legal documents. These range from the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the practices of the European Court of Human Rights, and national constitutions and laws. In these documents, the right to life is presented as a counterbalance to the right to euthanasia and assisted suicide. Consequently, different legal solutions exist globally for the phenomenon of euthanasia and assisted suicide, from legislations that do not regulate them normatively or treat them as criminal acts to those that have decriminalized and de facto legalized them through legal solutions. Considering the numerous uncertainties related to this phenomenon and the fact that euthanasia entails human life and the protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms, it is unrealistic to expect a swift and universal legal regulation of this phenomenon. The paper initially explains the concepts of euthanasia and assisted suicide, followed by a brief comparative overview of the normative regulation of euthanasia and assisted suicide in some European Union countries. The fundamental part of the paper focuses on the analysis of the normative regulation of this phenomenon in the Republic of Croatia and the attitudes of surveyed Croatian citizens on whether euthanasia and medically assisted suicide should be decriminalized and legalized in the Republic of Croatia.

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