Belgium

Law regarding euthanasia (2002) 

This law stipulates that euthanasia is not a crime, provided that it is performed by a doctor who has assured himself that:

• the patient is an adult or emancipated minor who is legally competent and aware at the time of his request;
• the request is voluntary, considered and repeated, and was not made as a result of any external pressure;
• the patient is in a medically desperate state of persistent and unbearable physical or psychological suffering that cannot be alleviated and that is the result of a serious and incurable disease or accident-induced condition.

An advance directive is legally valid; this must be renewed every five years. A request for euthanasia must be submitted in writing and this written request must be kept by two intimates. They must also be present when the advance directive is drawn up and one of the two must not benefit in the event of the death of the author. 

Since 2014, the age limit (subject to parental consent) for euthanasia has been dropped. Instead, the term “competent” has come. When a minor requests for euthanasia extra guarantees are required. And also when a person is not assumed to die within foreseeable time, an extra physician should be consulted, just as a psychiatrist. (Article 3 paragraph 3)