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Euthanasia and the Criminal law
Trnka, Pavel ; Vokoun, Rudolf (advisor) ; Herczeg, Jiří (referee)
1 Abstract Euthanasia is a highly controversial issue that is becoming an increasingly hot topic almost all over the world. Etymologically, the word "euthanasia" has its origins in the Greek word "euthanatos", meaning "good death" (from eu- "good, pleasant" + thanatos "death"). Later, however, in the wake of an interpretative shift, euthanasia generally came to be used, alongside its meaning of good death (merciful, good, beautiful, easy death), as the term of choice in connection with killing out of pity or compassion. Although, in my thesis, I discuss the subject of "good death" primarily from the perspective of criminal law in force in this country, the issue of euthanasia is very broad and encompasses not only criminal law or law in general, but also extends into a wide range of social fields. For this reason, in my thesis I also touch on euthanasia's relationship with medicine and religion, abuse of the concept of euthanasia and, not least, on legislation in other countries. The brief introduction to the thesis centres on an explanation of my motivation for choosing this subject and outlines what I will discuss in more detail in the main body of text. The initial chapter initially addresses how the concept of euthanasia has evolved and then discusses what forms it takes. Based on definitions put...
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