Last update:
25-Jun-2024

The involuntary admission and hospitalization of people with mental disorders deprives the human right to liberty. This significant restriction should be the last resort of psychiatric practice and should only be applied when other, less restrictive, measures have been ineffective. The United Nation (UN) protects the right to liberty and security of people with mental disorders and so does the Council of Europe, mainly with the Strasbourg Court's case law and with relevant recommendations, proposed to the member states criteria, procedures and time limits for the implementation of involuntary admission and hospitalization in the light of respect for and protection of the human rights of individuals to whom it is imposed. Among the examined countries, we observe that in most of them the existence of a mental disorder combined with a dangerous behavior to self or to others is considered a criterion for enforcing the measure of involuntary hospitalization. In other countries, taking the measure depends on the need for treatment, while some countries set priority to other, non-hospital services, such as the order for mandatory community treatment. In all countries, procedures and time limits for imposing the measure have been set, but there are variations in time limits, the body that validates the decision and the person or body that propose the detention. A psychiatrist or mental health professional must be consulted to make an admission decision, while the affected persons have the ability to challenge it. Hospitalization takes place in a psychiatric hospital or in a psychiatric ward of a general hospital, while in some states also in private, non-profit or for-profit units.

Key words: Human rights, Involuntary admission, Involuntary hospitalization, Legislation, Mental disorders.