Islands 'must be respected' on assisted dying

Politicians in Jersey and the Isle of Man have called for "respect" from the UK government, over concerns laws they passed to allow assisted dying are being delayed.

Jersey approved a law to allow terminally ill adults the right to choose to end their own lives on Thursday and now requires Royal Assent to make it official.

The Isle of Man is still waiting for this almost a year after passing the legislation, with Alex Allinson who brought the bill forward urging "the constitutional integrity of the Crown Dependencies must be respected".

The Ministry of Justice denies any delay for policy reasons, and said it would scrutinise the bills in its usual way.

Jersey's Health Minister, Tom Binet said he was "hopeful the island wouldn't face too long a waiting period".

Royal Assent, which means official sign-off from the sovereign, is normally a formality. All new laws in Jersey require it before coming into force.

But that process brings with it scrutiny by the Ministry of Justice, which is something the Isle of Man is now coming up against.

Questions around post-death reviews, safeguards around coercion and compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights are some of the things believed to be contributing to the almost year-long wait.

Allison, who authored the Isle of Man's assisted dying bill said it had already received "significant scrutiny" and that he was "disappointed with the continued delay in the granting of Royal Assent".

He also expressed concerns Jersey could face similar issues.

He said: "They may face the same questions about post-death reviews and the requirements for training, education and codes of practice as we have in the Isle of Man. I am sure that the Jersey Government will be as keen as we are to address any questions from the Ministry of Justice, but a lot of these issues have already been covered by the extensive consultation and parliamentary debates these laws have received".

He described it as a question of "constitutional integrity" saying it was "very important that the individual democratically elected parliaments are respected, and the views of their communities valued".

It's a sentiment shared by Labour peer, Lord Charlie Falconer, who is the sponsor of the England and Wales assisted dying bill that is currently being debated in the House of Lords.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's World at One programme, he said while differing legislation "will lead to some degree of complication", he doesn't think it should prevent laws being changed in each place.

Asked whether the UK Government could or should hold-up a law for any reason other than whether its drawn well enough, he said: "No, it should not because the nature of the constitutional arrangements is that Jersey and the Isle of Man are the people who decide on that sort of issue therefore they should decide it.

"Both Jersey and the Isle of Man reflect I think very strongly the sense that the law desperately needs to change, because the law is so cruel at the moment [in the UK]".

Following Thursday's decisive vote, Jersey's Health Minister Tom Binet was asked how long he expected to wait for Royal Assent, saying he hoped it would happen before the end of the 18-month implementation period.

He said: "I think it depends on the amount of questions that need to be asked. The law that we've just passed is extremely comprehensive so I'm not anticipating too long a period, hopefully.

"In the case of the Isle of Man, they have been waiting 10 months... I have heard that there are a number of questions that are being asked. I think that a number of the things that are being asked of them have already been incorporated into our law".

In the meantime, he said efforts would be made to get training underway.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "It is incorrect to say the UK Government is delaying Royal Assent for Crown Dependency legislation on policy grounds.

"We scrutinise Crown Dependency legislation in line with our responsibility for their compliance with the UK's international obligations."

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