India’s Mental Healthcare Act, 2017

Dr Richard Duffy is a Consultant Psychiatrist and has worked in the areas of general adult and liaison psychiatry. He completed his medical degree at Trinity College Dublin and holds a Masters of Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Richard’s current research is on the Indian Mental Healthcare Act 2017, and he has published international peer-reviewed papers on this topic. His current research into India’s law is as part of a Ph.D. in Trinity College Dublin. Professor Brendan Kelly, M.B. B.Ch. B.A.O., M.A. M.Sc. M.A., M.D. Ph.D. D.Gov. Ph.D., MCPsychI FRCPsych FRCPI FTCD, is a Professor of Psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin and Consultant Psychiatrist at Tallaght University Hospital. In addition to his medical degree (M.B. B.Ch. B.A.O.), Professor Kelly holds masters degrees in Epidemiology (M.Sc.), Healthcare Management (M.A.) and Buddhist Studies (M.A.), and doctorates in Medicine (M.D.), History (Ph.D.), Governance (D.Gov.) and Law (Ph.D.). Professor Kelly has authored and co-authored over 225 peer-reviewed publications and 450 non-peer-reviewed publications. His books include Custody, Care and Criminality: Forensic Psychiatry and Law in 19th-Century Ireland (History Press Ireland, 2014), Ada English: Patriot and Psychiatrist (Irish Academic Press, 2014), “He Lost Himself Completely”: Shell Shock and its Treatment at Dublin’s Richmond War Hospital (1916-19) (Liffey Press, 2014), Dignity, Mental Health and Human Rights: Coercion and the Law (Routledge, 2015), Mental Illness, Human Rights and the Law (RCPsych Publications, 2016), Hearing Voices: The History of Psychiatry in Ireland (Irish Academic Press, 2016) and Mental Health in Ireland: The Complete Guide for Patients, Families, Health Care Professionals and Everyone Who Wants To Be Well (Liffey Press, 2017). In 2017, Professor Kelly was appointed Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Law and Psychiatry.

Background to Mental Health Law.- The United Nations and Mental Health Law.- The World Health Organization and Mental Health Law.- History of mental health law in India.- India’s Rights of Persons with Disability Act 2016.- India’s Mental Healthcare Act 2017.- India’s Mental Healthcare Act 2017 and the WHO Checklist on Mental Health Legislation.- Non-concordance, omissions, deviations.- Social rights in mental health law.- Adhering to conventions: intentional grey areas or shirking responsibility?.- Conclusions.- Afterword by Soumitra Pathare.