This book provides an authoritative combination of legal and administrative practice and procedure and the operation of mental health tribunals (MHRTs). It includes: . Case summaries of all important reported and unreported decisions. Explanatory chapter on medical terms and the interpretation of special investigations. Diagnostic guidelines for the major forms of mental disorder. Detailed guidance on preparation of cases. Important amendments made by the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997

This study, undertaken in 1997 and commissioned by the Department of Health, examines how Mental Health Review Tribunals make decisions about whether or not to discharge patients detained under sections 2 and 3 of the Mental Health Act (1983).

The practice and procedure of the Mental Health Review will be substantially altered following the creation of a new First Tier Tribunal on the third of November 2008. This book provides a guide to the new law.