Dr Daisy Cheung (LML collaborator based at Hong Kong's Centre for Medical Ethics and Law) and Dr Elizabeth Fistein (LML Affiliate, Cambridge Clinical School) have co-authored an article with others titled, Articulating future directions of law reform for compulsory mental health admission and treatment in Hong Kong . The article explores four possible pathways for law reform in the area of compulsory mental health admission and treatment in Hong Kong. The discussion of each pathway -- abolition, risk of harm, mental capacity and consensus -- takes into account local challenges in implementation, as well as Hong Kong's international commitments for the protection of rights. In outlining these pathways for reform, the authors also provide a blueprint for regulatory change in other jurisdictions that are in the process of reforming their mental health laws.
The paper emanates from an international conference Compulsory Mental Health Treatment in Hong Kong: Which Way Forward? which was organised in 2017 by the Centre for Medical Ethics and Law (CMEL) in collaboration with Dr Elizabeth Fistein. Academics and practitioners from the United Kingdom, United States, New Zealand, and Hong Kong came together to discuss the philosophical justifications for compulsory treatment, constitutional and human rights, and the use of compulsory powers in practice. The conference report is available here.
The paper is available online, and free to download until 9th Jan 2020.