Diritto Pubblico Comparato ed Europeo

Sommario

1. Introduzione. – 2. Danimarca. – 3. Francia. – 4. Spagna. – 5. Olanda. – 6. Belgio. – 7. Inghilterra. – 8. Germania. – 9. Svizzera. – 10.1. Italia: il dibattito sulla liceità delle direttive anticipate nel nostro ordinamento. – 10.2. Verso il riconoscimento legislativo delle direttive anticipate in Italia. – 10.3. Considerazioni in margine alla proposta di legge italiana. – 11. Osservazioni conclusive.

Abstract

This article examines the instrument of living wills used to let people express their wishes concerning medical treatments should they become incompetent. This kind of document, that received its first legislative recognition in the US in 1976, has more recently entered use in Europe,originating from some permissive Countries such as Denmark and Netherlands. The article analyses the most problematic aspects of this instrument, especially relative to the limits of selfdetermination by patients, the relationships with euthanasia, the binding or indicative effects of such declarations, and the lack of actuality of the consent. Therefore, this work examines the legislative situation about living wills in the main European Countries, some of which have issued a specific law on this subject, while others, such as Italy, have not given it legislative recognition. The article ends with the analysis of the main Italian bill about living wills, compared with the other foreign experiences and tries to draw some conclusions about the best solutions in the regulation of living wills.