DIGNITAS’ legal and political work – Review 2023
24 February 2024
On Wednesday, 17 May 2023 DIGNITAS celebrated its 25th anniversary. In the 25 years of its operation, the association has advised tens of thousands of individuals on their end-of-life options and has achieved significant successes regarding freedom of choice and self-determination in life and at the end of life – in Switzerland and worldwide[1].
DIGNITAS persistently pursued its legal and political activities in 2023. The association’s aim is to enforce the human right and freedom of every individual to decide on the manner and time of their own end of life, as confirmed, in principle, by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court in 2006 and the European Court of Human Rights in 2011[2].
International activities
France was a main focus. DIGNITAS has been taking legal action against the ban on assisted suicide in France for several years. In spring 2023, 31 people living in France, represented by a Parisian lawyer, filed applications against the French state with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)[3]. This legal action was initiated and coordinated by DIGNITAS. The ECtHR decided to communicate the applications to the French government[4], which means that proceedings will be initiated. However, it will be some time before the ECtHR makes its judgment in this case, “A. and others v. FRANCE”.
As part of its political work, DIGNITAS was invited to share its knowledge and experience in a number of debates and parliamentary committee hearings on end-of-life choice regulations, including in the UK, Scotland, and South Korea.
Activities in Switzerland
In 2023, the association paid special attention to Switzerland, where various cantons are currently discussing access of assisted suicide organisations to old people’s and nursing homes. Today, in most cantons, it is up to the home’s management to decide whether or not to allow assisted suicide on its premises. However, refusing access is a clear violation of the residents’ right to self-determination. Forcing someone to leave the home, i.e., their last place of residence, in order to be able to make use of this right and freedom of choice, is unacceptable – especially if the home is co-funded by the state.
In 2023, an initiative committee, of which DIGNITAS is a member, launched the popular initiative “Self-determination at the end of life, also in retirement and nursing homes”[5] in the canton of Zurich. The cantonal initiative demands that seriously ill and suffering individuals who wish to make use of assisted suicide should be able to remain in their place of residence, which can also be a retirement home or care institution, and that this right should also be enshrined in law. Within a very short time, 13,000 signatures were collected. A total of 6,000 signatures were required. The Zurich cantonal council will decide on the initiative in the foreseeable future. If it does not find a majority in the parliament, the proposal will be put to a people’s vote.
The legal-political work of DIGNITAS (court judgments, reports, submissions, comments, etc) is documented at www.dignitas.ch.
[1] http://www.dignitas.ch/images/stories/pdf/medienmitteilung-17052023-e.pdf
[2] Judgment by the ECtHR of 20 January 2011, case Haas v. Switzerland
[3] http://www.dignitas.ch/images/stories/pdf/medienmitteilung-22052023-e.pdf
[4] http://www.dignitas.ch/images/stories/pdf/medienmitteilung-25092023-e.pdf
[5] https://selbstbestimmung-auch-im-heim.ch/ (in German)
