Because the government missed a “repair deadline” set by the Constitutional Court, death warrants have been in effect indefinitely since June 1st. Now a validity of one year is to be introduced again.
Topic picture euthanasia APA / APA / Georg Hochmuth
The government has initiated a new regulation of the period of validity of death warrants, which has been unregulated since June 1st. The Dying Directive Act, which has been in force since January 2022, enables people who wish to die to end their lives through assisted suicide. According to a decision by the Constitutional Court at the end of 2024, the orders currently apply indefinitely. The government wants to renew it every year, but is planning simplifications.
In 2024, the Constitutional Court repealed the regulation that required the entire complex process of renewing the death decree to be completed after one year. He sat down for a repair Constitutional Court a deadline of June 1, 2026, which has already expired. This means that the orders currently apply indefinitely.
This is also mentioned in the Ministerial Council lecture by the Minister of Justice Anna Sporrer (SPÖ), which was already decided on Wednesday in the Council of Ministers. Justice Minister Anna Sporrer (SPÖ) justified the submitted draft with the “point out that the deadline has already expired”.
It is proposed that death warrants should continue to only be valid for one year. However, they should be able to be renewed within a period of five years using a “simplified procedure”.
The draft law stipulates that a medical confirmation is required that the person wishing to die is still capable of making decisions, continues to have a free and self-determined decision to end their life, and still has an illness within the meaning of the law. The renewal should be able to take place either in front of a doctor or in front of a documenting person (notary or patient representative).
The 2026 Amendment to the Dying Directive Act will be subject to a public review; the review period will end on June 24th.
The Society for a Humane End of Life (ÖGHL) drew attention to the need for reform at the end of May, and – together with individuals – also brought the matter to the Constitutional Court. At the time, the applicants argued, among other things, that the prescribed “time-consuming and costly” formalities made it virtually impossible for suffering people to die quickly, accompanied and self-determined with the help of third parties.
In view of the unlimited validity of the orders, ÖGHL President Christina Kaneider spoke in May of a “significant relief for people with progressive illnesses who do not want to end their lives immediately, but would like to keep this way out open at all times”. She cited a less complex extension procedure as a “sensible solution” to repairing the law, and the doctor also considered extending the validity of the order beyond one year to be sensible.
Assisted suicide has been legal in Austria since 2022. The death decree law was introduced after a ruling by the Constitutional Court, which repealed parts of the criminal code as unconstitutional. To apply for a death directive, the person concerned must suffer from an incurable, fatal illness or a serious, permanent illness with persistent symptoms. The consequences of such an illness must have a lasting impact on the affected person’s entire lifestyle, and the illness must result in a state of suffering that cannot be avoided in any other way.
To submit the (initial) application for the order, two doctors, one of whom has palliative medicine qualifications, must provide information, and the order must be made in writing to a notary or patient representative. After the initial information, a waiting period of three months is required, which is shortened to two weeks if life expectancy is short. (APA)
