The legal status of advance directives in Denmark

Advance directives have legal status in Denmark according to the Law on Patients’ Legal Status (No. 482, 1998). They are legally binding in certain circumstances and advisory in others (please see section D for details). Some people express their future wishes in powers of attorney documents. Such wishes are not legally binding but may serve as guidelines for the attorneys who have been appointed.

Conditions surrounding the writing, validity and registering of an advance directive

Any person over the age of 18 who is not already under guardianship can write an advance directive. Capacity is presumed. It is not necessary to involve a doctor or notary.

There is a registration procedure in that advance directories must be sent to a Central Registry. The registration procedure currently costs about Euro 7.

The validity of advance directives is not limited to a set period of time.

What an advance directive can cover

Advance directives can include decisions relating to:

• The treatment of medical conditions and
• Life-supporting treatment.

but not life-saving treatment.

Obligation to comply with instructions contained in an advance directive

A person may specify in an advance directive that life-supporting treatment is not desired should they be facing unavoidable death i.e. where there is no outlook for cure, improvement or alleviation but only to a certain prolongation of life. In such cases, doctors must consult the Will Registry to check whether the patient has made an advance directive. If so, it is considered as legally binding.

A person may also or alternatively specify in an advance directive that life-supporting treatment is not desired in case of illness, advanced debilitation due to old age, accidents, heart failure or similar situations that cause such a severe invalidity that they would be permanently unable to take care of themselves physically and mentally. In such cases, doctors must again consult the Will Registry to check whether the patient has made an advance directive. If so, it is considered as advisory.

If a person expresses wishes just before losing capacity which differ from those contained in the advance directive, doctors normally take these wishes into account.

Amending, renewing and cancelling advance directives

An advance directive can be amended or cancelled at any time simply by informing the Will Registry. This can be done by a person with and presumably without capacity (provided that they have sufficient capacity to be able to inform the Will Registry).