Mental Health Laws from all UK Jurisdictions

Mental health law in the UK operates within three legal jurisdictions: England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Each jurisdiction has its own distinct laws governing the care and treatment of adults with mental disorder. Although these laws have broadly similar functions, they can be markedly different in substance and practice. This chapter provides an overview of the legal framework that governs the treatment and care of older adults with mental disorder and mental disability in the UK. It then describes the formal civil powers that exist in law to compulsorily detain and treat older people in hospital for mental disorder, and how these laws compare across the different jurisdictions of the UK