The long-awaited 5th edition of this popular text for all mental health professionals draws together allthe law relating to mentally disordered and mentally disabled people. The book covers the Mental HealthAct 2007, which made major amendments to the Mental Health Act 1983, and the Mental Capacity Act2005, also amended in 2007, that introduced a completely new scheme for decision-making on behalfof people who lack the capacity to make decisions. Associated regulations and Codes of Practice are alsoexamined in detail.
Mental Health Law examines all the key issues, from informal and compulsory care and treatment ofpeople with mental disorders to the safeguards against unjustified deprivation of liberty and the powersof tribunals and the courts. Decision-making on behalf of people who lack the capacity to make decisionsfor themselves and the role of mental health professionals, doctors and families in making thesedecisions is given particular attention. The relevance of mental disorder in the criminal justice systemand its effect upon other legal rights such as voting, marrying and making wills are also covered.
Written by Brenda Hale, a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, former academiclawyer and Law Commissioner whose work led to the Mental Capacity Act 2005, Mental Health Lawgives a plain and accessible yet critical account of what has become a complex body of law. Therefore,no matter what your interest in the law related to mentally disordered or mentally disabled people –as a lawyer, psychiatrist, mental health or social care professional or family member –you will find this a helpful guide.
The impact of the Human Rights Act and its incorporation into mental health law the rights andfreedoms set out in the European Convention on Human Rights is discussed along with key UKand Strasburg case law.
