Decriminalisation of Suicide

In January 2019, the Law Reform Commission (the “Commission”) undertook a project to examine the decriminalisation of suicide in the Cayman Islands, following a referral from the Honourable Attorney General. The initiative was also prompted by a submission from the Legal Committee of the Alex Panton
Foundation advocating for legislative reform.

The Commission conducted a comprehensive review and comparative analysis of the relevant provisions of the Penal Code (2019 Revision), Mental Health Act, 2013 and the Health Care Decisions Act, 2019. A comparative review was conducted of corresponding legislation in several jurisdictions, including
England and Wales, Canada, India, Ireland, and Singapore.

On 12th August, 2019, the Commission published a Discussion Paper titled “Decriminalisation of Suicide” and invited feedback from the public and key stakeholders during an initial consultation period from 16th August, 2019 to 21st October, 2019. In response to a request from the Cayman Ministers’ Association, the consultation period was extended to 31st October, 2019. The Commission concluded that suicide and attempted suicide, which had been preserved as criminal offences under the common law and section 2 of the Penal Code, should no longer be offences in the Cayman Islands. It was noted that treatment, not prosecution, is the appropriate response to individuals experiencing mental health crises. As such, the Commission recommended amending the Penal Code to expressly abrogate the common law offence of suicide.

Additionally, the Commission recommended –

(i) keeping assisted suicide as a specific offence under the Penal Code;

(ii) making no changes to the Mental Health Act, 2013, as its provisions were already sufficient to address the care and protection of individuals experiencing suicidal ideation; and

(iii) amending the Health Care Decisions Act, 2019 to define the terms “assisted suicide” and “euthanasia” in line with the reforms.

In support of these recommendations, two draft Bills were prepared:

(i) Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2019; and

(ii) Health Care Decisions (Amendment) Bill, 2019.

The Commission’s Final Report, titled “Decriminalisation of Suicide”, was submitted to the Hon. Attorney General on 31st March, 2020.

Both supporting Bills were passed by Parliament on 16th December, 2020, received assent on 6th January, 2021, and came into force on 7th January, 2021.These reforms aligned the Cayman Islands with the approach taken in many other progressive Commonwealth jurisdictions, and reflect guidance from the World Health Organisation’s 2014 Report (Preventing Suicide: A Global Imperative), which urges governments to decriminalise suicide to reduce stigma and improve access to care.