A High Court judge today declined to intervene to stop a man from taking his chronically sick wife to Switzerland for an assisted suicide.

The ruling was immediately hailed by euthanasia campaigners as a step further down the road towards establishing a right to die.

The case was brought by a local authority which learnt that the husband of a woman under its care was preparing to take her to a Zurich clinic which specialises in euthanasia.

Today Mr Justice Hedley, a Family Division judge, lifted a temporary injunction banning the trip, although he said that the husband’s ultimate intention was "undoubtedly an offence" under the Suicide Act.

He left it to the police to decide what action to take under the criminal law and ruled that the couple should not be identified.

Mr Justice Hedley said: "The court should not frustrate indirectly the rights of Mrs Z. The role of Mr Z is now a matter for the criminal justice agencies."

Deborah Annetts, chief executive of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society, said after the ruling: "This is a very important judgment, a watershed. It means that the Suicide Act is on its last legs."

Giving judgment after a day-long hearing, the judge said Mrs Z suffered from an incurable and degenerative illness which would ultimately affect every organ and lead to her death. The local authority had known for some time that she wished to commit suicide.

"They have now learnt that Mr Z has made arrangements for her to go to Switzerland for an assisted suicide," he said.

"In making these arrangements, Mr Z has arguably committed an offence under Section 2 of the Suicide Act 1961."

The judge said he had granted an injunction last week so that Mrs Z’s legal capacity to make those decision could be investigated.

"The evidence clearly establishes that she has legal capacity and that her decision is her own, freely arrived at with full knowledge of its consequences.

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