The Federal Constitutional Court has rejected a constitutional complaint filed by a specialist physician in neurology and psychiatry challenging his conviction for manslaughter related to assisted suicide.
The court, in a statement released on Wednesday, indicated that the complaint failed to convincingly demonstrate a violation of fundamental rights or rights equivalent to fundamental rights. The physician had argued his conviction was unjust and lacked legal clarity, specifically alleging it contravened the prohibition of arbitrary rulings and the principle of criminal law certainty.
The physician had previously received a three-year prison sentence following determinations by the specialist courts that he assisted in a suicide while the deceased’s decision was influenced by a mental health condition. He had contended that he assessed the deceased’s decision as freely and responsibly made, utilizing his own definition of autonomous decision-making.
The court’s decision closes the avenue for further constitutional review of the lower court’s ruling regarding the physician’s conviction, referencing its assessment dated July 1, 2025 – 2 BvR 860/25.
