Abstract
By ratification of the Convention on Human rights and Biomedicine, previously expressed wishes as a completely new institute have been, via Article 9, implemented in the Czech legal system. With no history of practical experience with previously expressed wishes, and after more than 6 years of legislative work on the new Act on Healthcare Service, a unique provision was enacted which is actually not meant to serve as an instrument enabling withdrawal of the mechanical support of vital functions.
In this paper, the great paradox of the Czech legal provision on previously expressed wishes is to be discussed and critically analyzed in order to explain the seriousness of the consequences of initial misunderstanding of the purposes and context of previously expressed wishes.