Information Note on the Court’s case-law 225

January 2019

Mortier v. Belgium (communicated case) - 78017/17

Article 2

Positive obligations

Article 2-1

Life

Effective investigation

Alleged flaw in the legal safeguards on euthanasia: communicated

Article 8

Article 8-1

Respect for family life

Respect for private life

A person euthanised without her children being informed: communicated

The applicant’s mother was subjected to euthanasia by a doctor, who failed to inform the applicant or his sister. The mother had been suffering from chronic depression. The administrative board responsible for verifying compliance with the procedure and co nditions prescribed by the Euthanasia Act had not found any irregularities, although its decision had not been made public. The applicant complained to the medical association, but the follow-up to the complaint was not communicated to the applicant. The c omplaint was dismissed. A criminal complaint against persons unknown was also discontinued by the public prosecutor on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

The applicant submitted that the State had failed in its duty to protect his mother’s life. He argu ed that the safeguards prescribed by law had been rendered illusory by non-compliance with the relevant procedure. He also considered that the investigation conducted had lacked the requisite effectiveness. He doubted the impartiality of the administrative board because the doctor in question had been one of the board’s joint chairs, and a few weeks before her death the applicant’s mother had donated 2,500 euros to an association of which that doctor had been the President. The applicant also complained tha t the facts of the case had infringed his mental integrity and interfered with his family life.

Communicated under Articles 2 and 8 of the Convention.

© Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.

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