NCJ Number
138983
Journal
Criminal Law Review Dated: (June 1992) Pages: 418-424
Date Published
1992
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article examines the inadequacies of the criminal law of insanity in the United Kingdom since the 1991 Criminal Procedure Act's provisions on insanity and unfitness to plead and it explores prospects of amendment via the European Court of Human Rights.
Abstract
The law grants the courts discretion, when the defendant has been found not guilty by reason of insanity, either to make an order for the defendant's civil commitment or to choose between three non-custodial orders. However, the substantive law is left unchanged. As a result, sleepwalkers, epileptics, diabetics in a condition of hyperglycemia, and others remain eligible to be considered legally insane and therefore at risk of unwarranted detention. The British approach provides a legal definition of insanity that differs radically from the psychiatric and medical versions. However, an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights may result in a change in the law. Footnotes