SAMOBÓJSTWO WSPOMAGANE JAKO FORMA WYKONYWANIA PRAWA JEDNOSTKI DO SAMOSTANOWIENIA W AUSTRIACKIM SYSTEMIE PRAWNYM

In the Republic of Austria, until the end of 2021, supporting an individual in his or her suicide was punishable by the law which reads as follows: „Whoever incites or assists another person to commit suicide shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of between six months and five years”. The Constitutional Tribunal (Verfassungsgerichtshof - VfGH), in a court ruling of 11 December 2020, lifted the prohibition of assisting in suicide, with effect from 1 January 2022. At the same time, VfGH called on the legislator to adopt abuse prevention measures. The executive and legislative bodies responded to the VfGH’s call and as a result changed the law in Austria with regard to assisted suicide in early 2022 in a way that corresponds to the interpretation of constitutional regulations by the VfGH. The aim of the paper is to analyse and assess the scope and significance of the normative change in the Austrian legal system initiated by the VfGH ruling. In the course of the undertaken research, the hypothesis was verified that on January 1, 2022, there was a change in the Austrian legal system of fundamental significance in terms of the most important fundamental rights of an individual, in particular his/her right to self-determination. The research was conducted primarily with the use of the dogmatic-legal method.