Plus de contention ni d’isolement sans contrôle du juge judiciaire

Although of old and common use, the use of isolation and restraint in psychiatry was not regulated until 2016 with the creation of article L. 3222-5-1 of the Public Health Code. However, the Court of Cassation considered that, as a form of care, it was beyond the office of the liberty and custody judge to controle its implementation. Questioned by a plea of unconstitutionality submitted by the Court of Cassation, the Constitutional Council considered, with its decision of 19 June 2020, that these measures constituted a deprivation of liberty requiring judicial review at short notice. The Sages thus declare the provisions of article L. 3222-5-1 unconstitutional, with delayed effect as of December 31, 2020, requiring legislator to rethink and organise the supervision and control of decisions of restraint and isolation.