Psychiatric diagnoses in legal systems: an issue of validity

When considering psychiatric evidence, justice systems from many countries are frequently presented with diagnostic labels from official psychiatric classificatory systems. A lack of validity in much of these classificatory systems is receiving increasing attention. Illustrative examples include post-traumatic stress disorder, various personality disorders and dissociative identity disorder. The courts and review bodies from many jurisdictions place tremendous faith in the present categorical classifications (e.g., DSMIV and ICD10). This paper questions whether the reliance on these classifications systems is appropriate in legal proceedings.