Criminal law, euthanasia, mercy killing and assisted death. Their regulation in Colombia and their comparison with Germany

Abstract

The right to life is a protected legal right in any legal system; therefore, actions that infringe upon it are criminalized in criminal codes. However, in a social state governed by the rule of law, such as Colombia or Germany, there is no unrestricted criminalization of self-determined death, medically assisted death, or participation in suicide. Values such as human dignity and free self-determination must also be taken into consideration by legislators and judges. Consequently, criminal offenses such as mercy killing and inducing or assisting suicide in the Colombian context, and homicide on demand in the German context, are treated as privileged or special offences, provide for reduced sentences, and have specific motivational requirements. This document aims to analyze euthanasia and the related crimes in Colombian legislation and jurisprudence, and to compare them with their regulation in Germany.