Citation

Fellmeth A, Abourahma N. Hum. Rights Law Rev. 2021; 21(3): 641-670.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/hrlr/ngab010

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Suicide is amajor global public health problem, but rarely is the subject viewed as a human right. With the sole exception of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), no international authority has taken a strong position on whether a human right to suicide exists. Even that court's jurisprudence goes no further than intimating that such a right falls within the scope of the human right to private life. This essay tackles the question of whether there is a human right to suicide under existing international law and, if so, what are its sources and limits. It concludes with an analysis of what obligations, both negative and positive, a right to suicide would impose on the state. © 2021 Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

human rights; suicide; assisted suicide; right to life; right to privacy