The right to life debates and the relation between the right to life and the right to health in penitentiaries according to the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights

In this master thesis entitled "The Right to Life Debates and The Relation between the Right to Life and the Right to Health in Penitentiaries according to the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights", the historical debates concerning the right to life are addressed in the first place. It should be noted that during a long period in history, the decision-making authority on life or death had been a distinctive feature of sovereign power and still remains to be so today. The decision making authority of power on life and death is exercised especially in the subjects such as death penalty, suicide, euthanasia etc., sparking heated debates at all times. Moreover, the punishment is a matter of importance in order to have a profound understanding of the history of modern penitentiary system. For this reason, this study includes the historical evolution of punitive practices. In the scope of this thesis, the international and regional human rights texts as an indication of positive law protection of the right to life as well as the legal arrangement of the latter in the above- mentioned texts are discussed. Since there is no arrangement concerning the right to health in the European Convention on Human Rights, the international and regional texts with regards to human rights covering the right to health and taken as a legal basis by the Court as well are included. As this study is based on the decisions of ECHR, the Court's decisions concerning directly the right to life take place initially, and then its attitude emerging in its general decisions, where the right to life and the right to health are treated together, is explained. Finally, the applications to the Court and the subsequent decisions in case of impairment of prisoners' health are evaluated.