The Slovenian Mental Health Act de lege ferenda

This article analyzes the case-law of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia relating to the protection of mentally ill persons. In case No. U-I-60/03 the Constitutional Court declared that the provisions of Arts. 70 to 81 of the Non-litigious Civil Procedure Act (a Chapter on involuntary Commitment to the closed wards of psychiatric hospitals) are not in conformity with the Constitution. As an interim measure the Constitutional Court instructed the regular Courts (in the procedure for the involuntary commitment of persons to a mental institution) to ensure the following: an ex officio counsel must be appointed for an involuntarily committed person upon the commencement of proceedings; and the notification of detention that the authorised mental institution is obliged to submit to the court must contain reasons substantiating the necessity of detention. The Legislature's intention is to enact a special Law (Mental Health Act) that will not only deal with the procedural questions, but also with all other constitutional and statutory rights and freedoms of the mentally ill patients. It should also deal with other forms of institutional and non-institutional care for mentally ill persons. The author discusses the Ombudsman's control over the rights and freedoms of involuntary committed in-patients. Finally, the author discusses some of the most problematic issues of the Slovenian Mental Health Actde lege ferenda.