Written by two of the country's leading specialists in mental health law, Mental Health Law: Policy and Practice, fourth edition, provides a detailed overview of the law and the socio-legal, historical, sociological, and cultural issues that surround it. Mental health law, at its heart, involves the forcible confinement and medication of some of society's most vulnerable people, and the authors look closely at the legal and social issues raised by this, and the human rights of those who suffer from mental illness. With reference to recent cases and new legislation, the authors analyse the legal structure and functions of the mental health system, and the problems of characterizing mental health law. The case law and statutes contain implied premises as to what it is to be a citizen, what the role of the state is for the vulnerable, and what the relative roles of law and medicine are in the regulation of control and deviance. Mental health law is an area of considerable legal and social complexity, and the authors challenge readers to question the system and the policies that have been developed. New to this edition are a significant restructuring of the text to take account of changes in law, policy, and practice; and new and expanded coverage of various topics including the 2007 reforms to the 1983 Mental Health Act, DOLS and the MHA/MCA interface, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Book
Emily Jackson
All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing students with a stand-alone resource. Medical Law: Text, Cases, and Materials offers exactly what the title says—all of the explanation, commentary, and extracts from cases and key materials that students need to gain a thorough understanding of this complex topic. Key case extracts provide the legal context, facts, and background; extracts from materials, including from the most groundbreaking writers of today, provide differing ethical perspectives and outline current debates; and the author’s insightful commentary ensures that readers understand the facts of the cases and can navigate the ethical landscape to form their own understanding of medical law. Chapters cover all of the topics commonly found on medical law courses, including a separate chapter on mental health law. This new edition, thoroughly updated, includes: coverage of important new cases in all chapters; the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications; the government’s White Paper on reform of the Mental Health Act; changes to the regulation of clinical trials and medicines in the UK as a result of Brexit; the change in the law on organ donation, which brought in an opt-out system in 2020; expanded coverage of data sharing and mobile technologies; changes to the law on abortion in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland; proposals set out in the Law Commissions’ consultation on reform of the law on surrogacy; and the most recent Assisted Dying Bill in England.
