J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc.  2020 Nov;59(4):293-302. 10.4306/jknpa.2020.59.4.293.

Review of Court-Ordered Treatment in New York State

• Park J
• Choi J
• Choe YM
• Sohn BK

• KMID: 2510509
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4306/jknpa.2020.59.4.293

Abstract

In recent decades, laws for involuntary treatment have evolved in ways that protect human rights as well as public safety. Globally, many nations have legislation for psychiatric patients that provide procedural advocacy during their involuntary treatment while a court or another independent organization reviews its lawfulness. In contrast, people with severe mental illness in Korea risk encountering human rights violations and loss of timely treatment, because their involuntary admissions are primarily initiated by family members and civil doctors and not by courts or government. The Mental Health Promotion and Welfare Act, revised in 2016, does not address this fundamental weakness, instead restricting involuntary admission criteria and bypassing the implementation of any procedural assistance programs. Subsequently untreated patients lead to clinical aggravation and even serious felony offenses. This paper introduces New York State’s court-ordered treatment system via the Mental Hygiene Law as a model for the revision of Korean legislation. The findings show that involuntary admissions in New York State are initiated by many parties as well as familial relatives and may be held up to 60 days without any court order. However, patients are assigned legal counsel for the ability to request for a court hearing at any time during their admission. The Assisted Outpatient Program is another legal intervention that requires a person with a mental illness that would likely result in serious harm to self or others to receive supervised outpatient treatment. We argue that the New York State model can be implemented effectively in Korea considering its current medical and judicial status.

Keyword

Mentally Ill patients; Involuntary treatment; Forensic psychiatry