[The criminal responsibility of the mental patient]

The authors analyze the issue of the penal responsibility raised by the psychiatrists as expert witnesses. According to the A.P.A. Commission on this issue, they stress the incompatibility between the judicial and the psychiatric concepts. The issue does not belong to the psychiatric domain as such but resides within the boundaries of philosophy and ethics. The enduring ambiguity pervades more the psychiatrist than the legal profession. The authors agree with the A.P.A. Commission in maintaining the issue of responsibility, failing which there would be a serious ethical drawback. However, this should be the judge exclusive power. The psychiatrist is limited to staying within a therapeutic point of view, this includes a psychiatric diagnosis, the potential therapy, if any, and a prognosis as well. Owing to the sociological and criminological aspects, the expert report should be done by a multidisciplinary team. The authors wish an official attitude on these matters from the concerned professional associations in Belgium, up to their American colleagues.