Coercive measures in mental health-care institutions

The State party should guarantee in law that non-consensual psychiatric treatment may only be applied, if at all, in exceptional cases as a measure of last resort and when absolutely necessary to protect the health or the life of the person concerned, provided that he or she is unable to give consent, and for the shortest possible time under independent review. The State party should promote psychiatric care aimed at preserving the dignity of patients, both adults and minors. It should draw on the study funded by the Research Council of Norway on the current use of coercive measures in mental health care, with a view to ensure compliance with human rights standards. The State party should increase procedural safeguards for patients and stipulate in law the circumstances allowing for the limited use of coercive electroconvulsive treatment.