ABSTRACT
Mental health law is inextricably connected to key human rights protected under the European Convention on Human Rights (1950, ECHR or the Convention), such as the right to freedom of liberty, to personal autonomy and physical and mental integrity, and to the right to not be discriminated against. This chapter outlines the fundamental procedural and substantive standards developed by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR or the Court) in its jurisprudence relating to these rights. It pays attention to the level of judicial scrutiny the Court has applied in cases involving mental health care provision and points to a trend towards stricter scrutiny in such cases. It also includes a discussion of the Court's response to the development of human rights standards in the context of mental health that has taken place in relation to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and ends with a call on the Court to engage in discrimination analysis and to consider introducing positive obligations on states parties to develop voluntary crisis support services in order to prevent human rights violations associated with compulsory mental health interventions.
