The country’s parliament is now expected to debate the matter, which came to the fore during the trial in Milan of an activist who helped a tetraplegic man die in Switzerland, The Local reports.

Anyone who “facilitates the suicidal intention… of a patient kept alive by life-support treatments and suffering from an irreversible pathology” should not necessarily be punished, the court ruled.

Fabiano Antoniani, known as DJ Fabo, was left a tetraplegic after a traffic accident in 2014.

Marco Cappato, a member of the Radical Party, drove Mr Antoniani to Switzerland in February 2017 where he was helped to die at the age of 40.

Mr Cappato said in a tweet: “Those who are in Fabo’s condition have the right to be helped. From today we are all more free, even those who disagree. It is a victory of civil disobedience, while the (political) parties turned their heads away.”