ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on mental health human and legal rights as well as related policies. It deals with an overview of the worldwide situation. The chapter provides an account of the historical and present situation in England and that in Australia. The Mental Health Act 2007 in particular impacts on the operation of the human rights legislation, along with concomitant local procedures, clinical practices and technologies such as ‘risk assessment’, enforced treatment and electronic surveillance. Although mental health law has long been associated with control, the 2007 Act is specifically attempting to resolve the tension between liberty and such control. The relationships among mental health, the law and human rights have been and remain characterized by complex tension. In both ‘old world’ England and ‘new world’ Australia, issues of fear and control co-exist with structural and attitudinal changes regarding, for example, recovery, citizenship and consumer choice.
