EUTHANASIA IN POLAND. A FEW COMMENTS ON THE IMPACT OF LEGAL REGULATIONS ON PRACTICE
EUTHANASIA IN POLAND. A FEW COMMENTS ON THE IMPACT OF LEGAL REGULATIONS ON PRACTICE

Summary/Abstract: The protection of human life is enshrined in the most important international legal documents. These include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of December 10, 1948, Article 3 states that “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person”, the subsequent Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms drawn up in Rome on November 4, 1950 (Journal of Laws 1993.61.284), in which Article 2 states that “1. Every human being's right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law. 2. Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as contrary to this article when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary: a) in defense of any person from unlawful violence; b) in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained; c) in actions taken in accordance with the law to quell riots or uprisings.”; or in the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, opened for signature in New York on December 19, 1966. (Journal of Laws 1977.38.167), where Article 6 states that “1. Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life. 2. In countries where the death penalty has not been abolished, a death sentence may be imposed only for the most serious crimes in accordance with the law in force at the time of the crime and not contrary to the provisions of this Covenant and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This penalty can only be carried out on the basis of a final judgment rendered by a competent court. 3. Where deprivation of life constitutes the crime of genocide, it is understood that nothing in this article shall authorize any State Party to the present Covenant to derogate in any way from any obligation assumed under the provisions of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. 4. Anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence. Amnesty, pardon or commutation of the sentence of death may be granted in all cases. 5. Sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by persons below 18 years of age and shall not be carried out on pregnant women. 6. No provision of this article may be invoked to delay or to prevent the abolition of the death penalty by any State Party to this Covenant. This international standard has also been adopted by the Polish Constitution, Article 38 of which states that “The Republic of Poland shall ensure the legal protection of life to every human being.” The result of these contents was a criminal law article, i.e. Article 150 of the Penal Code, which defines euthanistic homicide (Journal of Laws 2024.0.17 i.e. - Act of June 6, 1997 - Penal Code) - “§ 1. Whoever kills a person at their request and out of compassion for them,shall be subject to imprisonment for a term of between 3 months and 5 years. § 2. In exceptional cases, the court may apply an extraordinary mitigation of the penalty or even waive its imposition. As a result, it is worth considering to what extent criminal law is a deterrent to crime, and if it is considered effective, to what extent this is due to the prevention of legal regulation and possibly the determination of other factors, including non-legal ones. The key research methods will be the theoretical-legal method and the dogmatic-legal method.

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