Suppressing human rights? A rights-based approach to the use of pharmacotherapy with sex offenders

Legal Studies ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Harrison ◽  
Bernadette Rainey
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Satellite Tracking ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Viable Option ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mental Health Legislation ◽  
The Government ◽  
Health Legislation ◽  
Tracking Technology

The use of pharmacotherapy (more emotively known as chemical castration) is the use of drugs to treat and help manage the risk that sex offenders, and in particular paedophiles, pose to society. Due to the increased climate of public fear of this risk, the government recently published aReview of the Protection of Children from Sex Offenders(the Review). This Review, published in June 2007, sought to explore how the protection of children could be improved and how greater reassurance to the public on the management of sex offenders could be provided. The Review makes several proposals with regard to managing high-risk sex offenders. Amongst the list of 20 actions, the trialling of polygraph tests, satellite tracking technology and the use of anti-libidinal suppressants is included. This paper examines the latter, pharmacotherapy, and assesses how concepts such as dignity and consent underpin the human rights' implications of its use. The paper will also assess the recent changes to mental health legislation and evaluate whether such treatment for incompetent or competent offenders is a viable option given the UK's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.

scholarly journals Death of the Nearest Relative? Carers’ and Families’ Rights to Challenge Compulsion under Current and Proposed Mental Health Legislation

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (13) ◽  
pp. 123
Author(s):  
Victoria A Yeates
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Private Sphere ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mental Health Legislation ◽  
Major Shift ◽  
The Government ◽  
Draft Bill ◽  
Health Legislation ◽  
The Impact

<p align="LEFT">This article explores the scope of carers and family members’ current entitlements to be involved in decisions about the use of compulsion under mental health legislation and the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights on these rights. It then examines the proposals in the <em>Draft Mental Health Bill</em> in relation to family rights, the recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Committee concerning carers and nominated persons and the Government’s response to these recommendations. It will be argued that the 2004 Draft Bill would represent a significant erosion of the rights of families, which is potentially profoundly antitherapeutic where a public safety agenda based on risk management predominates. It would involve a major shift in the boundary between the public and the private sphere, which is of constitutional significance, and it is argued that the Government should follow the recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Committee.</p>

Detaining the Dangerous: Legal and Ethical Implications of the Government's Proposals for High-Risk Individuals

2002 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith M. Laing
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
High Risk ◽  
White Paper ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Mental Health Legislation ◽  
Human Rights Act ◽  
Human Rights Act 1998 ◽  
The Government ◽  
Health Legislation

In December 2000, the government in England and Wales published a White Paper proposing a radical overhaul of current mental health legislation. Part II of the White Paper contained controversial new proposals to detain indefinitely ‘high-risk’ disordered individuals. These proposals have attracted a large amount of criticism in both legal and medical circles and may contravene the European Convention on Human Rights. This article will outline the proposals for reform and highlight some of the legal and ethical implications, in particular focusing on the extent to which the proposals may be open to challenge under the Human Rights Act 1998.

Crime-Preventing Neurointerventions and the Law

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Forsberg
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Medical Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Mental Health Legislation ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Legal Regimes ◽  
Health Legislation

Anti-libidinal interventions (ALIs) are a type of crime-preventing neurointervention (CPN) already in use in many jurisdictions. This chapter examines different types of legal regimes under which ALIs might be provided to sex offenders. The types of legal regimes examined are dedicated statutes that directly provide for ALI use, consensual ALI provision under general medical law principles, mental health legislation providing for ALI use (exemplified by the mental health regime in England and Wales), and European human rights law as it pertains to ALI provision. The chapter considers what we might learn from ALIs in respect of likely or possible arrangements for the provision of other CPNs, and draws attention to some ethical issues raised by each of these types of regime, worth keeping in mind when considering arrangements for CPN provision.

Protecting the Rights of People with Mental Disabilities:The European Convention on Human Rights

2002 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 293-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Reform ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Mental Disability ◽  
Mental Health Legislation ◽  
Degrading Treatment ◽  
The Right ◽  
Health Legislation ◽  
Relative Scarcity

AbstractThis paper will analyse the essential legal requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights which touch on the lives (and deaths) of people with mental disabilities. It will examine the procedural safeguards which must be followed when involuntarily detaining a person under mental health legislation; access to a court to test the lawfulness of detention; the requirement to be free from torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; the right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence; and the right to life, including investigation after a death. The paper will discuss some of the factors which explain the relative scarcity of mental disability cases decided by the Strasbourg Court. In conclusion there will be an examination of the role of lawyers and other key players in mental disability, and how stakeholders can move forward to prompt much needed social reform.

Abortion for Foetal Abnormalities in Ireland; The Limited Scope of the Irish Government’s Response to the A, B and C Judgment

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Donoghue ◽  
Claire-Michelle Smyth
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Legal Abortion ◽  
Member States ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
European Court ◽  
Margin Of Appreciation ◽  
Controversial Topic ◽  
The Government ◽  
Limited Scope

Abstract Abortion has been a controversial topic in Irish law and one which the Government has been forced to address following the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in A, B and C v. Ireland. The Working Group established to make recommendations have specifically been instructed to deal only with the issues raised in the A, B and C judgment and legislate on the basic of the ‘X case’. This restricted approach calls for legalisation of abortion only where the life of the mother is at risk, a position unique only to Ireland and Andorra within Europe. The vast majority of member states to the European Convention on Human Rights allow for legal abortion on the basis of foetal abnormality and with this emerging consensus the margin of appreciation hitherto afforded by the European Court to member states is diminishing. The advancement and availability of non-invasive genetic tests that can determine foetal abnormalities together with the ruling in R. R. v. Poland leaves Ireland in a precarious position for omitting any reference to foetal abnormalities in any proposed legislation.

Muslim Reformists, Female Citizenship, and the Public Accommodation of Islam in Liberal Democracy

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Fadel
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Political Equality ◽  
The Public ◽  
European Court ◽  
Margin Of Appreciation ◽  
Gender Hierarchy ◽  
Normative Justification

AbstractThe European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), in a trilogy of cases involving Muslim claimants, has granted state parties to the European Convention on Human Rights a wide margin of appreciation with respect to the regulation of public manifestations of Islam. The ECHR has justified its decisions in these cases on the grounds that Islamic symbols, such as the ḥijāb, or Muslim commitments to the shari‘a — Islamic law — are inconsistent with the democratic order of Europe. This article raises the question of what kinds of commitments to gender equality and democratic decision-making are sufficient for a democratic order, and whether modernist Islamic teachings manifest a satisfactory normative commitment in this regard. It uses the arguments of two modern Muslim reformist scholars — Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwī and ‘Abd al-Ḥalīm Abū Shuqqa — as evidence to argue that if the relevant degree of commitment to gender equality is understood from the perspective of political rather than comprehensive liberalism, doctrines such as those elaborated by these two religious scholars evidence sufficient commitment to the value of political equality between men and women. This makes less plausible the ECHR's arguments justifying a different treatment of Muslims on account of alleged Islamic commitments to gender hierarchy. It also argues that in light of Muslim modernist conceptions of the shari‘a, there is no normative justification to conclude that faithfulness to the shari‘a entails a categorical rejection of democracy as the ECHR suggested.

scholarly journals OPINI MAHASISWA MENGENAI ISU PEMINDAHAN LOKASI PELAKSANAAN HUKUM CAMBUK KE PENJARA (Studi Kasus Pada Mahasiswa Prodi Hukum FISIP UTU)

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rena Juliana
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Spiral Of Silence ◽  
The Public ◽  
Underlying Theory ◽  
Political Sciences ◽  
The Government ◽  
Quantitative Descriptive ◽  
Descriptive Method

This research aims to analyze how students of Law Major of Social and Political Sciences Faculty ofTeuku Umar University responded to the issue of transferring the location of the execution of the caningto prison. Spiral of silence theory is the underlying theory of this research. The method used in thisresearch is quantitative descriptive method by distributing questionnaires to 20 students. From the resultsof the research found that the students did not agree with the government plan to move the location of theexecution of the caning to prison. It is considered that such a punishment will not make the defendantsdeterrent because the effect of shame does not exist. The defendant will not be punished by the public fornot being shown publicly. The students also considered that the prohibition to take pictures andrecordings when the process of application of caning law should not be prohibited. In addition thestudents considered that the implementation of caning law in the mosque will not cause a sense of thephobia of investors to instill their shares in Aceh and the implementation of caning law in the mosquedoes not violate human rights. The students alleged the transfer of location of the canning law full ofpolitical interests so it is feared that the ruling parties in violation of the Shariah will not receive thecaning punishment because of their power.Keyword: Opinion, students of Law Major, Caning1. PENDAHULUAN

scholarly journals Mental health legislation in Botswana

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (03) ◽  
pp. 68-70
Author(s):  
J. Maphisa Maphisa
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Mental Health Legislation ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Health Legislation

The Mental Disorders Act of 1969 is the primary legislation relating to mental health in Botswana. Despite the country not being a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, its Act has a self-rated score of four out of five on compliance to human rights covenants. However, it can be argued that the Act does not adequately espouse a human rights- and patient-centred approach to legislation. It is hoped that ongoing efforts to revise the Act will address the limitations discussed in this article.

1. An introduction to the criminal law

2021 ◽  
pp. 3-25
Author(s):  
David Ormerod ◽  
Karl Laird
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Common Law ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The Public ◽  
Moral Wrong ◽  
Public Nuisance ◽  
Harm To Others

It is neither easy to define crime nor identify the aims of criminal law but some characteristics may be universal to every crime, including that it involves public wrongs and moral wrongs. ‘Public wrongs’ reflect the important role of the public in punishing crimes. A crime incorporating a moral wrong implies that a ‘wrong’ is done or harm to others is involved but experience suggests that morality and criminal law are not coextensive. The chapter introduces students to thinking about criminalization and the need to guard against overcriminalization. It also examines the principal sources of criminal law: common law, statute, EU law, international law and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Problematically, important and serious offences and most defences in English law derive from common law rather than statute, and some offences—from public nuisance to gross negligence manslaughter—have been challenged recently on grounds of certainty and retrospectivity.

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