The Mental Health Act 1983 is an important piece of

legislation used frequently in psychiatric practice. There has been concern over an apparent lack of knowledge of mental health legislation among medical practitioners, including psychiatrists.1-3 In his study on non-consultant psychia-trists, Humphreys4 reported that only 28 % were able to give the correct title and year of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984. Furthermore, in a study on consultant psychia-trists, only 10 % of the sample were able to give the statutory definition of the term mental disorder.5 In a survey of Section 12(2)-approved medical practitioners in the West Midlands (England), only a third of respondents correctly identified the four legal categories of mental disorder and none was able to define the term mental disorder as used in the Mental Health Act.6 In another study on psychiatry trainees in Ireland,7 patchy knowledge of procedures i