Relatives of people who kill themselves will not face prosecution as long as they do not maliciously encourage them and assist only a "clear settled and informed wish" to commit suicide, the Director of Public Prosecutions has said.
Keir Starmer QC outlined guidance to make it easier for those helping someone commit assisted suicide to know if they will face prosecution.
The move comes after the Law Lords backed multiple sclerosis sufferer Debbie Purdy's call for a policy statement on whether people who help someone commit suicide should be prosecuted.
Mr Starmer said: "There are no guarantees against prosecution and it is my job to ensure that the most vulnerable people are protected while at the same time giving enough information to those people like Mrs Purdy who want to be able to make informed decisions about what actions they may choose to take."
He added: "Assisting suicide has been a criminal offence for nearly 50 years and my interim policy does nothing to change that."
More than 100 Britons have ended their lives at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland, but, until now, friends or relatives who accompany them have not known if they will face prosecution.
The clarification is intended to make it much easier for people to know if they will be prosecuted or not.
Mr Starmer outlined 16 public interest factors in favour of prosecution and 13 factors against prosecution.
Some factors in favour of prosecution included that the victim was under 18 and did not ask personally on his or her own initiative for the assistance of the suspect. Another factor in favour of prosecution was that a relative "persuaded, pressured or maliciously encouraged the victim to commit suicide".
Factors against prosecution included that the victim had a "clear, settled and informed wish to commit suicide" and that the victim "indicated unequivocally to the suspect that he or she wished to commit suicide".
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