L’obligation de soins, ce que le thérapeute doit savoir : regards croisés entre justice et psychiatrie

Abstract

Introduction

Mandatory care is part of court-ordered care. This measure was introduced into French Law on November 23, 1958, at the same time as conditional imprisonment with probation. Rarely used by judges in the beginning, mandatory care appears to be ordered more frequently today. Concerning mainly male individuals with personality or substance abuse disorders, therapists will frequently be asked by their patients to implement this measure. Through a review of the legal and health literature, this paper intends to specify how mandatory care is ordered, implemented, applied and ultimately how it ends.

Methods

We conducted a literature review of French legal and health publications between 1958 and 2021. We included sources from several databases such as Science Direct, Persée, Cairn, Dalloz, and Légifrance. We used the keywords “obligation de soin”, “soins pénalement ordonnés”.

Discussion

Mandatory care is a frequent measure that can be pronounced by French judges at any judicial procedure. No psychiatric expertise is needed contrary to other court-ordered care such as injunction of care. As the magistrate only sets the goals of mandatory care, its organization and extent are determined by the therapist in partnership with the patient. The patient will then have to prove his assiduity to the judge, by asking the therapist to submit certificates of attendance. As the therapist is sworn to respect the professional secrecy towards the magistrate, the judge should transmit all the documents useful for the patient's care. Finally, mandatory care can be terminated at the behest of the patient, the district attorney, or the Executive Magistrate.

Conclusion

It seems essential that healthcare professionals understand what mandatory care is and how it is conducted. Moreover, we invite all those involved, from the judicial to the medical system, to promote meeting venues to better identify the limits of each, while, at the same time, respecting one another's professional secrecy.