Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what the policy is of the Crown Prosecution Service in prosecuting cases of encouraging or assisting suicide.

When prosecuting cases of encouraging or assisting suicide, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutors make decisions in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors and the Director of Public Prosecutions Policy for Prosecutors in respect of cases of Encouraging or Assisting Suicide.

Following the recent Supreme Court Judgement in the case of ‘Nicklinson and others’, the policy was updated on the 16 October 2014 to clarify issues raised regarding healthcare professionals (and others with similar responsibilities for individuals).

A copy of the updated policy is available on the CPS website at: http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/prosecution/assisted_suicide_policy.html