Das voluntarium indirectum

Overview & Synopsis

»Voluntarium indirectum«: The thesis examines the so-called Principle of Double Effect (»PDE«) based on the question whether it is permissible to cause the death of an innocent person if the death is the unintended side effect of an intrinsically neutral act. It comes to the conclusion that the PDE is a philosophically convincing concept and should also be applied in legal doctrine in order to consistently resolve cases such as indirect euthanasia, collateral damage and the shooting down of an aeroplane.