Mental health law
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Doctor.roberts
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'''Mental health law''' is the area of the law that is applied specifically to persons with a diagnosis or possible diagnosis of mental illness, and to the people involved in managing or treating others in this situation. This includes areas in both [[common law]] and [[statute law]].
[[Common law]], which is based on case law rather than statutes, issues include such concepts as [[mens rea]], [[insanity defence]]s, sane and insane [[Automatism (law)|automatism]] amongst others.
[[Statute|Statute law]] usually takes the form of a Mental health act or equivalent. An example is the [[Mental Health Act 1983]] in [[England]] and [[Wales]]. These acts codify aspects of the treatment of [[mental illness]] and provides rules and procedures to be followed and penalties for breaches.
Mental health acts are largely used in the management of [[psychosis]] where a person has lost the ability to test reality. They may also be used for other conditions including [[personality disorder]]s. The laws generally allow for [[Involuntary commitment|compulsory treatment]] in a [[psychiatric hospital]] or in the [[Outpatient commitment|community]].
In some [[jurisdiction]]s court orders are required for compulsory treatment while in others treating psychiatrists may treat compulsorily by following set procedures. In the latter case there are usually methods of appeal or regular scrutiny to ensure compliance with the law.
Not all countries have mental health acts. The world health report (2001) lists the following percentages by region for countries in those regions with and without mental health legislation.{{ref|who}}
{| border="2" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2"
|- bordercolor="#666666"
! align="left" | Regions
! align="center" | With legislation
! align="center" | No legislation
|- bordercolor="#666666"
| Africa
| align="center" | 59%
| align="center" | 41%
|- bordercolor="#666666"
| The Americas
| align="center" | 73%
| align="center" | 27%
|- bordercolor="#666666"
| Eastern Mediterranean
| align="center" | 59%
| align="center" | 41%
|- bordercolor="#666666"
| Europe
| align="center" | 96%
| align="center" | 4%
|- bordercolor="#666666"
| South-East Asia
| align="center" | 67%
| align="center" | 33%
|- bordercolor="#666666"
| Western Pacific
| align="center" | 72%
| align="center" | 28%
|}
==Notes==
#{{note|who}}[http://www.who.int/whr/2001/chapter4/en/index.html Presence of mental health policies and legislation], ''The World Health Report 2001'', chap. 4, fig. 4.1 (accessed June 8, 2005).
== See also ==
* [[:Category:Mental health law]] – for specific articles in this area
== External links ==
* [http://www.bazelon.org Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law]
* [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/acts2003/20030013.htm ''The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003'' Office of Public Sector Information website]
** [http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/health/mhsa-00.asp ''An Introduction to The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003'' Scottish Executive website]
*[http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/20050009.htm Mental Capacity Act 2005 (England, Wales)]
[[Category:Mental health law]]
[[Category:Psychosis]]
[[de:Psychisch-Kranken-Gesetz]]
* [http://www.nrc-pad.org National Resource Center on Psychiatric Advance Directives]
== Further Reading ==
* Atkinson, J. (2006) '''Private and Public Protection: Civil Mental Health Legislation''', Edinburgh, Dunedin Academic Press