HUMAN RIGHTS AND MENTAL HEALTH LAWS REDRESSED

These four Doughty Street authors have produced 1,000 pages of discursive brilliance on a key piece of legislation, which was then followed by further legislation in the form of the Mental Health Act 2007 to bring the UK in line with the European Convention of Human Rights which the government was inexplicably unprepared for in 2006 after the decision in HL v United Kingdom. Professor Richardson, recommending this work, explains with trenchant clarity the unfortunate set of circumstances in the Foreword to this guide which all readers should start with.

The UK has had a problem with mental health issues for some years, and there has been much legislative disagreement over the years culminating in this piece of legislation which should have been the definitive codification of the new regime. However, events have overtaken the policies so health care practitioners and lawyers should follow the clarification give by Ms Weereratne and the co-authors.

The book has 18 chapters with some excellent practice points, plus 5 appendices for the legislative measures and a user-friendly index. Each chapter has its own short index for ease of reference and you can see it was written by barristers!

What I found most useful about the book overall was discussion of the conceptual issues raised by the MCA itself concerning the role of the diagnostic threshold, and issues such as the elements of capacity concerning specific patient groups.

Professor Richardson writes that the book’s “greatest strength lies in the authors’ wide knowledge and experience of the broader context within which the Act must operate”. This is absolutely true as an assessment of the worth of the book in one phrase.

Clearly the aftermath of HL v UK on liberty deprivation and the working relationship between the MCA and the MHA 2007 provides the authors with their finest hour in what is messy legislation which helps few and hinders many. It is the only book on the market, so far as I know, that has dealt with this issue in any depth as the case law evolves, and I recommend it to my learners for the mental health courses I run.

For me, the most important parts of the guide are the later chapters, specifically chapter 17 on human rights which states what our obligations are as signatures to the Convention and implementers of the subsequent Human Rights Act, and what the judicial thinking currently is (if that can be determined after the parliamentary confusion). Do cross-refer to the evolving case-law in chapter 9, and the interface of powers between the two Acts discussed in chapter 16.

THE DOUGHTY STREET TEAM

As is common with many practitioner publications today, Aswini Weereratne and her team have produced an excellent statement on current mental health law here with all its formidable complexity for those working in social welfare, health and mental health fields, whether acting on behalf of social services or health authorities, or for private individuals.

This is another great collaboration between leading chambers and publishers and is to be welcomed as it combines the best of Counsel with the best of publishers in this field of law.

The Doughty Street team has done the best possible job possible to explain the confusing relationship between the Acts and is of great assistance to specific practice areas such as discrimination, prisons and crime.

They have bridged the ‘Bournewood gap’ created by the common law well, and I am so grateful that the authors did not give up in despair over the legislative and judicial confusions which have been quite unnecessary: we owe the four authors a debt of gratitude for making the confusions clear after years of indecision. ( )