Human rights commission to intervene in mental health hospital detention case

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has been granted liberty by the Court of Appeal to intervene in an important case relating to the right of persons detained in mental health hospitals to challenge orders authorising their ongoing detention for a period of 12 months.

The appeal arises from a High Court case in which lawyers for an individual argued that there was no provision under the Mental Health Acts for their client to apply to have the Mental Health Tribunal reconvened to conduct a further review of the legality of his detention where his circumstances had changed.

In its judgment, the High Court held that a person detained under the Mental Health Acts for a lengthy period was entitled to challenge the lawfulness of their continued detention at reasonable intervals before a court, citing article 5(4) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The High Court further decided that the absence under the Mental Health Acts of a mechanism to review the lawfulness of such a detention, other than appealing the Mental Health Tribunal’s decision to the Circuit Court immediately following the renewal order, was incompatible with the State’s obligations under the Convention.

The Commission will appear as an amicus curiae in the resulting appeal and will present submissions on the relevant domestic and international human rights standards for the assistance of the court.

Chief commissioner Emily Logan said: “The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission applied to appear as amicus curiae in this case as it raises important issues involving the decision to detain people in mental health hospitals, and the right of the patient to seek regular review of such decisions.”