Right to Life Flashcards
Moratorium
Have capital punishment but don’t use it, keep it in the criminal code to use out of fear
AI and Right to Life: Meaningful Human Control
laws can be permitted as long as there is meaningful human control over them
Non human entities should not be in a place to harm humans
Different Approaches to AI
US: deregulation
China/EU: regulation
Haas v. Switzerland (2011)
Core Issue: Access to lethal drugs without medical prescription
ECtHR Outcome: No violation of rights
Pretty v. United Kingdom (2002)
Core Issue: Right to assisted suicide through a third party
ECtHR Outcome: No violation of rights
ECHR’s interpretation of Article II
Constrains the right to life only to cases concerning living of a person, not dying
Canada and MAID
Natural Right: rights that are given to sue by nature… we cannot interfere with a natural right
Right to Die is a natural right that is informed by positivist means
IACHR says: Right to Life emerges at the moment of conception
This is why Canada has never joined because it would have far reaching implications for Canadian abortion law
McCann and Others v. UK (1995) - ECtHR
Issue: Killing of suspected IRA members in Gibraltar by UK Security Forced
Holding: court found a violation of article 2 (right to life) due to lack of planning and control
significance: affirmed state;s duty to minimize lethal force, even in anti-terror operations
Osman v. UK (1998) - ECtHR
Issue: failure of police to protect a family from a known threat
Holding: no violation found, but established that states have a positive obligation to protect life when authorities know or should know of a real risk
significance: expanded the scope of positive obligations under the right to life
Kaya v. Turkey (1998) - ECtHR
Issue: killing of a kurdish man by turkish security forces
Holding: violation found - failure to adequately investigate the killing
significance: established duty to conduct effective investigations into deaths involving state agents
Oneryildiz v. Tukrey (2004) - ECtHR
Issue: deaths caused by methane explosion in public landfill
Holding: state violated the right to life by failing to prevent a forseeable hazard
significance: linked the right to life with environmental hazards and state negligence
Valsquez Rordiguex v. Honduras - IACtHR
Issue: enforced disappearance of a student by state agents
Holding: honduras responsible for violation of right to life, liberty, and personal integrity
significance: first major ruling establishing state responsibility for enforced disappearances and positive obligations under right to life
Street Children v. Guatemala (1999) - IACtHR
Issue: extrajudicial execution of street children by police forces
Holding: found violation - right to life and personal integrity
significance: emphasized state’s duty to protect vulnerable populations, esp children
Lubicon Lake Band v. Canada (1990) - HRC
Issue: govt development projects on indigenous land
Holding: violation found - cultural and property rights; implicit links to life and survival of the indigenous community
significance: interpreted the right to life as inclusive of economic, social, and cultural rights
aumeeruddy-cziffra et al v. Mauritius (1981) - HRC
Issue: deportation of foreign husbands of Mauritian women
Holding: not a direct right to life case, established that arbitrary state practices could impact family life and indirectly threaten life and well-being
significance: helped frame broader interpretations of state obligations under the Covenant
Individual Autonomy vs Abstract Valuation of Life
if right to life can override an individual’s autonomous choice to die - it implies life is being valued independent of the person’s will
undermines the foundational liberal principle that rights are grounded in individual
Dutch Law
accepts suicide under strict conditions - mentally component, enduring request, unbearable suffering
Legal and Social Implications
ECtHR’s jurisprudence constructs life as having a sacred status that overrides other rights
