Any Mental Health Act must legislate on involuntary hospital admission, or it will not be effective

Abstract

Introduction: when the State deprives an individual from their liberty, it restricts one of the most fundamental human rights. International legal conventions signed by Chile require the Chilean State to provide the individual deprived from their liberty timely access to independent judicial review. This duty includes those involuntarily deprived of their liberty due to the person suffering from a mental disorder, here called ‘involuntary hospital admission’. Method: relevant articles from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the American Convention on Human Rights are outlined, including the Chilean Supreme Court’s opinion on the Chilean Senate’s Health Commission’s Second Report on a Mental Health Bill. These bodies support the need to legally protect the right of the individual deprived from their liberty due to a psychiatric disorder, to timely access independent judicial review of their involuntary hospitalization. Results: inspired in the England and Wales’ Mental Health Act, a proposal is outlined, where the individual deprived from liberty due to a mental disorder has access to independent judicial review. The Mental Health Assessment prior to any involuntary detention and the functioning of the Mental Health Tribunals, including the roles of the court, solicitors, and health professionals, are presented. Conclusion: it is argued that any law aspiring to be called Mental Health Law must deal with the critical issue of independent judicial review of involuntary hospital admissions due to mental disorder. Should they fail to do so, it will not protect the rights of those that it claims to protect.