Facts
The French nationals X. and Y., who suffered from mental illness, committed suicide on February 11, 2002 in Zurich with the assistance of the association "Dignitas". The competent district prosecutor then ordered the autopsy of the bodies. Lawyer Minelli, the founder and secretary-general of "Dignitas", filed an appeal against this order on behalf of the deceased. He also filed a constitutional appeal with the Federal Court on behalf of the deceased.
The appellant 3, the mother of the two deceased, also participated in the constitutional appeal. However, the Federal Court did not enter into the appeal of appellant 3 or that of appellants 1 and 2 (X. and Y.).
Considerations
The Federal Court states that according to Art. 31 para. 1 in conjunction with Art. 11 of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB), legal capacity ends with death. A deceased person is therefore not a party capable of taking legal action and cannot file a lawsuit or appeal. The view advocated by the supporters of the theory of post-mortem personality protection, according to which it is permissible to file a lawsuit on behalf of a deceased person, has been rejected by the Federal Court.
Although the Federal Court has recognized certain effects of the right to personality beyond death, such as the protection of the dignity of the deceased or the…