header-logo header-logo

The mental health paradigm

15 December 2023 / Laura Davidson
Issue: 8053 / Categories: Features , Mental health
printer mail-detail
151428
Laura Davidson asks if new UN guidance could topple compulsory detention & enforced medical treatment
  • Covers guidance issued by the World Health Organisation and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
  • Suggests it may help end practices of coercion and compulsory treatment, and could have a stronger impact than international human rights law.

A quarter of a century ago, the UK ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). It prohibits discrimination, including against those with ‘mental… [or] intellectual impairments’ (Art 1). Despite being binding, global compliance remains patchy. However, all psychiatric coercion—compulsory hospitalisation, physical and chemical restraint, seclusion and segregation—is discriminatory and hence unlawful.

The European Court of Human Rights deems psychiatric force lawful if necessary and proportionate, the least restrictive option and a last resort. The UK’s 40-year-old Mental Health Act 1983 (MHA 1983) permits coercion to protect someone’s health or safety, or others (s 2(2) and s 3(2)). Restraint (which may cause death) and seclusion (a recognised form of torture) can

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
back-to-top-scroll