Rothärmel S
Fachbereich Rechtswissenschaften-Strafrecht und Strafprozessrecht, Universität Giessen.
Zentralbl Chir. 2001 Sep;126(9):722-9. doi: 10.1055/s-2001-18246.
Since the Federal High Court decided the "Case of Kempten" in 1994, German Law allows discontinuation of life-sustaining treatment even when the patient's life could be extended by a number of months. Unfortunately, the court gives little normative criteria regarding the conditions under which "helping to die" is legal. Instead of such criteria, the will of the patient is underlined as being decisive. Therefore, the legal problems have shifted to the determination of the patient's will and substituted consent; written living will, power of attorney and consent of the court have become more important within the law of euthanasia. Along with a general description of the legal limits of euthanasia, the scope of application of these civil law institutes will be discussed.
自1994年联邦高等法院判决“肯普滕案”以来，德国法律允许停止维持生命的治疗，即便患者的生命可以延长数月。遗憾的是，法院几乎没有给出关于“协助死亡”在何种条件下合法的规范性标准。取而代之的是，强调患者的意愿具有决定性作用。因此，法律问题已转移到对患者意愿的判定以及替代同意；书面生前遗嘱、授权书和法院同意在安乐死法律中变得更为重要。除了对安乐死法律限制的一般性描述外，还将讨论这些民法制度的适用范围。
