[Epilepsy, society and rights]

Although from the medical point of view epilepsy is considered to be a neurological disorder, this has not always been so. It was once included in the group of psychiatric disorders by the medical profession and others. In the case law of the Supreme Court, epilepsy is defined as a typical endogenous psychosis, and therefore as insanity. This would lead to its inclusion in the grounds for exoneration from criminal responsibility and has therefore been invoked as grounds for immunity from prosecution by many offenders. This has proved to be a two-edged sword, since the concept of insanity has led to these patients suffering social rejection. Medicine and Law have never found it easy to understand each other. However, now more than ever, some degree of mutual understanding is necessary when passing judgement on a person, since the Law progresses more slowly than Medicine does. Thus, today we would question a series of offences referred to in this paper, which used to be classified as insanity due to epilepsy. From a legal point of view we advocate a clear classification of epilepsy as a neurological disorder. This would doubtless lead to epileptics being more socially acceptable.