For involuntary placement to be lawful, the placement procedure must be clearly explained by law and followed.
In Lithuania the procedure for placement in a mental health care institution against your will is explained in the Mental Healthcare Law.
The placement procedure must comply with the following steps:
Step 1 – Examination in the institution
First examination is conducted by a psychiatrist. The request for your examination could come from doctors, police, court and your family. A psychiatrist may decide to keep you in the institution only if you are pose danger to yourself or others.
Step 2 – Information about the decision
You must be informed about the decision. In addition, you should be able to inform your attorney at law or a family member of the decision. You have the right to indicate who should be informed. If you don’t have an attorney at law, one will be appointed when the mental healthcare institutions notifies the court of your involuntary placement (see the next steps).
Step 3 – Notification of the court
If the institution has decided to keep you in the institution for a longer period of time than 2 days, the institution must inform the court and send the decision and the reasons for the necessity of placement to the court.
Step 4 – Notification about the court hearing
After receiving the information, the judge must immediately inform everyone involved about the date of the consideration of the placement in a mental health care institution against one’s will. The hearing must take place within 5 working days after the court received all the required documents.
Step 5 – Reasoned decision of the court
The judge may initially approve a placement in a psychiatric hospital for up to 1 month. The decision must very clearly explain the grounds on which you will be kept in a psychiatric hospital and especially why that is necessary in your case. The reasons cannot be superficial and generic.
Step 6 – Information about the decision
The decision must be given to you, your legal representative and other participants in the hearing.
Step 7 – Appeal
Lithuanian laws do not allow appeals in cases of involuntary placement.
What human rights violation may there be?
If your involuntary placement process did not comply with the given procedural requirements, it may result in a violation of the right to liberty and security of the person.
Read more about the complaint possibilities.