header-logo header-logo

19 September 2025 / William Raven
Issue: 8131 / Categories: Opinion , Human rights , Health
printer mail-detail

Lord Neuberger on assisted dying

230092
The judge & former president of the Supreme Court talks to William Raven about his views on the Terminally Ill Adults Bill

Lord Neuberger, by his own admission, has ‘for many years been interested in the topic of assisted dying’. Liberalising the law on assisted dying is a question he has often considered—as a law lord in R (on the application of Purdy) v DPP [2009] UKHL 45, [2009] 4 All ER 1147, and in the Supreme Court in R (on the application of Nicklinson) v Ministry of Justice [2014] UKSC 38, [2014] 3 All ER 843. When we met on a late-June morning, a few days after the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons, it was an issue I was keen to raise. 

Liberalising the law

‘For a long time, I’ve been in favour of liberalising the law,’ Lord Neuberger said. ‘I don’t go to the House of Lords very often, but [in 2021] there was a motion about

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

Haynes Boone—Jeremy Cross

Haynes Boone—Jeremy Cross

Firm strengthens global fund finance practice with London partner hire.

DWF—Stephen Webb

DWF—Stephen Webb

Partner and head of national planning team appointed

mfg Solicitors—Nick Little

mfg Solicitors—Nick Little

Corporate team expands in Birmingham with partner hire

NEWS
The High Court’s refusal to recognise a prolific sperm donor as a child’s legal parent has highlighted the risks of informal conception arrangements, according to Liam Hurren, associate at Kingsley Napley, in NLJ this week
The Court of Appeal’s decision in Mazur may have settled questions around litigation supervision, but the profession should not simply ‘move on’, argues Jennifer Coupland, CEO of CILEX, in this week's NLJ
A simple phrase like ‘subject to references’ may not protect employers as much as they think. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, analyses recent employment cases showing how conditional job offers can still create binding contracts

An engagement ring may symbolise romance, but the courts remain decidedly practical about who keeps it after a split, writes Mark Pawlowski, barrister and professor emeritus of property law at the University of Greenwich, in this week's NLJ

Medical reporting organisation fees have become ‘the final battleground’ in modern costs litigation, says Kris Kilsby, costs lawyer at Peak Costs and council member of the Association of Costs Lawyers, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll