header-logo header-logo

Compassionate clarity

17 September 2009 / Seamus Burns
Categories: Features , Human rights
printer mail-detail

Seamus Burns commends the move towards greater transparency in assisted suicide cases

The unanimous and surprising ruling of the House of Lords in R (on the application of Purdy) v Director of Public Prosecutions [2009] UKHL 45, [2009] All ER (D) 335 (Jul) reignites the debate about whether assisted suicide should continue to be outlawed.

The decision requires the director of public prosecutions (DPP) to promulgate an offence-specific policy identifying the facts and circumstances which he will take into account in deciding, in a case like Ms Purdy’s, whether or not to give his consent, by virtue of s 2 (4) of the Suicide Act 1961 (SA 1961) to a prosecution under SA 61, s 2 (1).

The judgment represents a significant personal victory for Debbie Purdy, supporting her argument that the existing law is insufficiently clear to enable her to accurately predict if her husband is likely to be prosecuted with assisting in her suicide, at some time in the future.
Debbie Purdy suffers from primary progressive multiple sclerosis and the progressive nature of the disease

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll