M.S. v. The United Kingdom
Country: United KingdomYear: 2012
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: Application no. 24527/08
Health Topics: Health systems and financing, Hospitals, Mental health
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
After sounding a car horn repeatedly and behaving in a highly agitated manner, the applicant was arrested by police in Birmingham, United Kingdom. It was determined that before his arrest, the man had inflicted serious injury upon his aunt at his residence. He was detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act, which allows …Read more
Munjaz v. United Kingdom
Country: United KingdomYear: 2012
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: Application No. 2913/06; [2012] ECHR 1704
Health Topics: Hospitals, Mental health
Human Rights: Freedom from discrimination, Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Freedom of movement and residence, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to family life, Right to liberty and security of person
The Applicant, a UK citizen born in 1947, alleged that the seclusion policy (“Policy”) of Ashworth Special Hospital (“Ashworth”), the maximum security hospital where he was committed for a mental illness, violated the European Convention on Human Rights. After several instances of incarceration and hospitalization on account of various mental health issues, the applicant was …Read more
Stanev v. Bulgaria
Country: BulgariaYear: 2012
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: Application no. 36760/06
Health Topics: Diet and nutrition, Health care and health services, Health systems and financing, Medicines, Mental health, Poverty
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person
S, an adult male diagnosed with schizophrenia, lived for many years with his half-sister and step-mother, his closest living relatives, before they applied in 2000 to the Ruse Regional Court to have S declared legally incapacitated. The court declared S only partially incapacitated. S’s family refused to accept guardianship for S, and the court instead …Read more
Fyodorov and Fyodorova v. Ukraine
Country: UkraineYear: 2011
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: Application No. 39229/03
Health Topics: Aging, Informed consent, Mental health, Violence
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to bodily integrity, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to privacy
Two Ukrainian nationals lodged this complaint against the Ukraine under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights (the “Convention”) in 2003. The applicants alleged that they were ill-treated by the police and that no effective investigations of the event took place. One of the applicants also alleged that he had been …Read more
Hadzic and Suljic v. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Country: Bosnia-HerzegovinaYear: 2011
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: Application Nos. 39446/06 and 33849/08
Health Topics: Mental health, Prisons
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to liberty and security of person
Mr. Hadzic and Mr. Suljic were detained in the Psychiatric Annex of Zenica Prison. Each claimed that their detention was unlawful under Article 5, section 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights (“Convention”), which protects the right to liberty and security of person They argued that the Annex was not an appropriate institution for …Read more
Rt 2011 s 666
Country: NorwayYear: 2011
Court: Supreme Court
Citation: Ref. HR-2011-2325-A
Health Topics: Hospitals, Informed consent, Medical malpractice, Mental health
Human Rights: Right to liberty and security of person
On the basis of information from A’s family, A’s primary physician requested that A be hospitalized as soon as possible at the Buskerud hospital. A’s primary physician was told by the physician at Buskerud hospital that in order for compulsory admission to occur A had to have been examined by an independent doctor within the …Read more
L v. RIDCA Central (Regional Intellectual Disability Care Agency)
Country: New ZealandYear: 2010
Court: High Court
Citation: HC WN CIV-2010-485-1279
Health Topics: Mental health
Human Rights: Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person
The claimant (L), a 45-year-old woman with an intellectual disability, appealed a decision by the Family Court which had ordered a 12-month extension to the compulsory care order that L was under. The care order had been initially ordered under the Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation) Act 2003 (“IDCCR Act”) because of L’s violent …Read more
R v. Conway
Country: CanadaYear: 2010
Court: The Supreme Court of Canada
Citation: 2010 SCC 22
Health Topics: Hospitals, Mental health, Public safety, Violence
Human Rights: Freedom of movement and residence, Right to liberty and security of person
The accused was found not guilty by reason of insanity on a charge of sexual assault with a weapon in 1983. He was subsequently detained in numerous mental health facilities. Before his annual review hearing in 2006 was held, the accused alleged that the centre in which he was detained had violated his constitutional rights …Read more
Kracke v. Mental Health Review Board & Anor (No. 2) (General)
Country: AustraliaYear: 2009
Court: Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
Citation: [2009] VCAT 1548
Health Topics: Informed consent, Mental health
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Freedom of movement and residence, Right to bodily integrity, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person, Right to privacy
The petitioner, Kracke, was mentally ill and was being subjected to medical treatment without his consent. He was required to take drugs with adverse side effects and had been trying unsuccessfully to convince the medical authorities to let him stop taking them. The drugs were being administered under treatment orders issued pursuant to the Mental …Read more
Shtukaturov v. Russia
Country: RussiaYear: 2008
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: App. No. 44009/05, Eur. Ct. H.R. (2008).
Health Topics: Informed consent, Mental health
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to bodily integrity, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person, Right to privacy
The applicant, Mr. Shtukaturov, was born in 1982 and first began showing signs of mental illness in 2002. In August 2002, he was held for approximately 8 months in a psychiatric hospital, receiving a diagnosis of simple schizophrenia. On August 3, 2004, Shtukaturov’s mother petitioned the Vasileostrovskiy District Court of St. Petersburg, claiming that her …Read more