ABSTRACT
Psychiatrists who provide medicolegal reports for the criminal courts address issues at the interface of law and psychiatry, disciplines with markedly different purposes and philosophy. Psychiatry is concerned with the diagnosis, management, and understanding of mental disorders. The law is concerned with fact finding, justice, and, in the criminal courts, attribution of guilt. The role of the psychiatrist can be likened to that of a consultant to the court, assisting the court to understand the nature of mental disorder and its relevance to legal issues.
