The Irish Human Rights Commission is concerned at the on-going delay in implementing Part 2 of the Mental Health Act, 2001, which provides for the establishment of Mental Health Tribunals to review the involuntary admission of a person to a mental health hospital or unit. "The establishment of the Tribunals was heralded as the means by which Irish law will be brought into compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in relation to the issue of review of legality of detention of patients involuntarily admitted to psychiatric hospitals. The delay in their establishment results in the continuing denial of the rights of a most vulnerable group of people" stated the President of the IHRC, Dr. Maurice Manning.
The Commission also points out that in addition to the ECHR there is a wide range of protections under international human rights law to protect the rights of persons detained against their will. "The tardiness of the State in affording to persons detained in mental hospitals the respect and dignity required by its international human rights obligations is of grave concern to the Commission. The necessary legislation is now on the statute book, however, it remains to be implemented in full and this should be done as quickly and comprehensively as possible" stated Dr. Alpha Connelly, Chief Executive of the IHRC.
For further information, please contact:
Mary Ruddy
Senior Human Rights Awareness Officer,
Irish Human Rights Commission,
Jervis House,
Jervis Street,
Dublin 1.
Tel. 01 8589 601
Mobile: 087 2400695
E-mail: info@ihrc.ie
Website : http://www.ihrc.ie
Editor’s Note
The Mental Health Act 2001 introduces significant changes to mental health legislation in
Ireland. Part 2 of the Act provides for an automatic independent review by a mental health tribunal following an involuntary admission of an adult to a psychiatric hospital/unit. The impetus for the introduction of the Mental Health Act 2001 was Croke v Ireland 2000. The applicant complained before the European Court of Human Rights about the absence of an automatic and independent review of detention either before or after his initial detention and about the absence of a periodic, independent and automatic review of his ongoing detention. The introduction of the Act was part of the government commitment to a friendly settlement in the Croke case in December 2000 and the Mental Health Act 2001 was signed in July of that year. Part 2 of the Act remains to be fully implemented and the mental health tribunals are not yet established.