152 judgments found.

Cruz Varas and Ors v. Sweden

Country: Sweden
Year: 1991
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: Application No. 15576/89
Health Topics: Mental health, Prisons, Violence
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to family life
Facts:

Cruz Varas (C V) , his wife and son (all Chilean nationals) had applied for political asylum but the National Immigration Board held that, from the information given, they had not invoked sufficiently strong reasons to be considered as refugees under national or international law and that they should be expelled. In an unsuccessful appeal …Read more

Tags: Abuse, Assault, Asylum, Cruel treatment, Custody, Degrading treatment, Detainee, Detention, Immigration, Inhuman treatment, Mental disorder, Migrants, Police, Rape, Refugees, Sexual violence, Torture
Download Judgment: English French

Piperno, María Ana v. Argentina

Country: Argentina
Year: 1991
Court: Federal Criminal and Correctional Court of Appeals [Cámara Nacional de Apelaciones en lo Criminal y Correccional Federal]
Citation: Cámara Nacional de Apelaciones en lo Criminal y Correccional Federal, Sala IV [Cám. Crim. Corr. Fed., Sala IV] [Federal Criminal and Correctional Court of Appeals], 4/18/1991, Caso n° 38.759/91 (Arg.).
Health Topics: Mental health, Sexual and reproductive health, Violence
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
Facts:

A woman consecutively shot her partner three times. She was charged with aggravated homicide.  She claimed self-defense, alleging to have been subjected to continuous domestic violence and abuse. The ruling of the Court of First Instance justified her action and she was acquitted. The prosecutor appealed the decision on grounds that the woman’s response was …Read more

Tags: Domestic violence, Humiliating treatment, Mental disorder, Sexual violence, Violence against women
Download Judgment: English Spanish

R v Swain

Country: Canada
Year: 1991
Court: Supreme Court of Canada
Citation: [1991] 1 RCS
Health Topics: Mental health, Prisons, Public safety, Violence
Human Rights: Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person
Facts:

Swain was arrested and charged with assault and aggravated assault. Due to his bizarre conduct during the incident and at the time of his arrest, Swain was transferred from jail to a mental health centre before trial. His condition improved with medication, and he was conditionally released into the community before trial. Swain continued to …Read more

Tags: Assault, Compulsory commitment, Compulsory confinement, Custody, Detention, Domestic abuse, Insanity, Involuntary commitment, Involuntary confinement, Mandatory commitment, Mandatory confinement, Mental competence, Mental disorder, Mental illness, Mental institution, Psychiatry, Psychology, Psychosis, Threat of violence, Violence against women
Download Judgment: English

R v. Chaulk

Country: Canada
Year: 1990
Court: Supreme Court
Citation: [1990] 3 SCR 1303
Health Topics: Mental health
Human Rights: Right to due process/fair trial
Facts:

The appellants were found guilty of first degree murder. At trial, expert evidence was given that the appellants suffered from a paranoid psychosis which made them believe they could rule the world, and in order to achieve this they had to kill. Although they were aware that the laws of Canada existed, the appellants did …Read more

Tags: Incapacity, Insanity, Mental capacity, Mental competence, Mental disability, Mental disorder, Mental illness, Paranoia, Psychosis, Sociopath
Download Judgment: English

W v. Egdell

Country: United Kingdom
Year: 1990
Court: Court of Appeal, Civil Division
Citation: [1989] EWCA Civ 13; [1990] 2 WLR 471; [1990] Ch 359; [1990] 1 All ER 835
Health Topics: Health care and health services, Health information, Mental health
Human Rights: Right to due process/fair trial, Right to privacy
Facts:

W pled guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility for the indiscriminate killing of several people. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was detained indefinitely in mental hospitals. A Mental Health Tribunal recommended W’s transfer to a regional secure unit (“RSU”) in 1984. The Secretary of State refused to consent to W’s …Read more

Tags: Compulsory commitment, Compulsory confinement, Confidentiality, Disclosure, Examination, Health records, Insanity, Involuntary commitment, Involuntary confinement, Law enforcement, Mandatory commitment, Mandatory confinement, Medical records, Mental disorder, Mental illness, Mental institution, Non-disclosure, Paranoia, Psychiatry, Psychology, Psychosis, Schizophrenia, Secrecy
Download Judgment: English

H. v. France

Country: France
Year: 1989
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: Application No. 10073/82; (1989) 12 EHRR 74
Health Topics: Disabilities, Health information, Hospitals, Informed consent, Medical malpractice, Mental health
Human Rights: Right to bodily integrity, Right to due process/fair trial
Facts:

  The applicant, a French citizen, struggled with depression, schizophrenia and, at some points, symptoms of catatonia.  In May of 1961, the applicant, who was a primary school supply teacher, voluntarily reported to the neurological clinic at Strasbourg Hospital for observation. He expected to be in the hospital for two weeks. In June of 1961, …Read more

Tags: Confidentiality, Depression, Disabled, Disclosure, Experimental treatment, Health care professionals, Health care workers, Inappropriate treatment, Informed choice, Involuntary treatment, Medical records, Mental disorder, Mental illness, Mental institution, Negligence, Non-consensual testing and treatment, Non-disclosure, Patient choice, Psychiatry, Public hospital, Schizophrenia, Unauthorized treatment
Download Judgment: English French

Soering v. United Kingdom

Country: United Kingdom
Year: 1989
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: 161 Eur. Ct. H.R. (ser. A) (1989)
Health Topics: Mental health, Prisons
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to life
Facts:

Jens Soering was a German national who came to the United States to study at the University of Virginia. While there, he became friends with Elizabeth Haysom, a Canadian national.  Haysom’s parents did not approve of Soering and Haysom’s relationship.  In March 1985 the couple made plans to kill Haysom’s parents.  They rented a car …Read more

Tags: Cruel and unusual punishment, Cruel treatment, Degrading treatment, Execution, Inhuman treatment, Law enforcement, Mental disorder, Mental illness, Torture
Download Judgment: English Albanian Bosnian French Russian

Disabled Peoples International v. United States

Country: United States
Year: 1987
Court: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Citation: Application No. 9213; OEA/Ser.L/V/II.71, Doc. 9 rev.1, 184, 22 September 1987
Health Topics: Disabilities, Hospitals, Mental health
Human Rights: Right to health, Right to liberty and security of person, Right to life
Facts:

The Richmond Hill Insane Asylum in Grenada was bombed by military aircraft belonging to the United States in 1983. Petitioners, including Disabled Peoples’ International, presented the names of sixteen persons who were killed and six who were injured and claimed that the deaths and physical injuries of the mental patients were caused by purposeful armed …Read more

Tags: Armed conflict, Mental disability, Mental disorder, Mental illness, Mental institution, Military
Download Judgment: English Spanish

E. (Mrs.) v. Eve

Country: Canada
Year: 1986
Court: Supreme Court
Citation: [1986] 2 S.C.R. 388
Health Topics: Informed consent, Mental health, Sexual and reproductive health
Human Rights: Freedom from discrimination, Right to bodily integrity
Facts:

Eve was a mentally disabled young woman suffering from a condition that made it extremely difficult for her to communicate with others. She was not capable of understanding the consequential relationship between intercourse, pregnancy and birth.  Mrs. E, her mother, was concerned that Eve might innocently become pregnant, which would mean that she, an elderly …Read more

Tags: Compulsory sterilization, Compulsory treatment, Contraception, Contraceptives, Family planning, Forced sterilization, Forced treatment, Incapacity, Incompetence, Informed choice, Involuntary sterilization, Mandatory sterilization, Mental competence, Mental disability, Mental disorder, Mental illness, Mental institution, Mental retardation, Non-consensual testing and treatment, Patient choice, Pregnancy, Sterilization
Download Judgment: English French

Ford v. Wainwright

Country: United States
Year: 1986
Court: Supreme Court
Citation: 477 U.S. 399 (1986)
Health Topics: Mental health, Prisons
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person, Right to life
Facts:

The Appellant, Ford, was convicted of murder in a Florida state court and sentenced to death in 1974. There was no suggestion that he was incompetent at the time of the offense, at trial, or at sentencing. However in 1982, Ford began to manifest gradual changes in behavior, which, based on a psychiatric examination, indicated …Read more

Tags: Cruel and unusual punishment, Detention, Execution, Imprisonment, Incarceration, Incompetence, Inmate, Insanity, Mental competence, Mental disability, Mental disorder, Mental illness, Mental retardation, Torture
Download Judgment: English