Enforcement in Ireland of the rights of mentally disordered people under the European Convention on Human Rights

This thesis examines the rights of people with mental disorder under Irish law against the background of the European Convention on Human Rights. It proposes that Irish law does not meet the minimum standards laid down by the Convention and that significant law reform is required to achieve this aim. The main issues concern the admission, detention and treatment of adults and children in psychiatric care and the safeguards provided in the Irish legal system. These matters are considered against the Convention requirements in the context of the current and ongoing process of law reform in Ireland. The rights addressed are: the right to protection from arbitrary deprivation of liberty under Article 5, particularly the liberty of the compliant incapacitated patient. This includes an empirical study of the habeas corpus provision in Ireland. Article 8 and Article 12 rights are examined, specifically, the right to self-determination in a number of spheres including: consent to treatment, the right to marry, to have a sexual relationship and children and the right not to be sterilised. The right to protection from inhuman and degrading treatment in Article 3 includes consideration of positive state obligations to protect physical integrity in relation to conditions of detention, seclusion and aspects of treatment. The right in Article 2 to have one's life protected from foreseeable risks and the obligation on the state to investigate following death is examined. The restrictions on the removal of civil rights and obligations in relation to access to court to take civil action and to have control over one's property and affairs are examined for compliance with Article 6. The outcome of the examination confirms the proposal that Irish law does not meet the minimum standards of the Convention