On problems of ensuring personal rights with mental disorders

The article gives an analysis of Russian legislation on the provision of psychiatric care to citizens, on the procedure for applying compulsory medical measures to them and on the rights of persons with mental disorders.The relevance of the research topic is confirmed by the fact that questions about the provision of medical care and the observance of the rights of citizens when applying for psychiatric help have repeatedly become the subject of consideration by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. The European Court of Human Rights also accepted complaints against the Russian Federation and made decisions in defense of the applicants' violated rights. The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on specific complaints indicated that forced placement in a psychiatric hospital is possible only by court order. At the same time, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation noted that only in exceptional cases is it possible to apply such a measure without prior judicial permission. The role of the court in such cases, the Constitutional Court points out, cannot be reduced only to the formal satisfaction of the application for the forced hospitalization of a citizen or the extension of the period of his forced hospitalization.The article also provides an overview of the practice of the European Court of Human Rights on this topic, from which it can be concluded that, in relation to persons with mental disorders, articles of the European Convention such as Article 3 (the right to physical integrity) are more often violated. 5 (right to liberty and security of person), Article 6 (right to a fair trial within a reasonable time), Article 8 (right to respect for personal and family life).The article notes that people with mental disorders have all the rights and freedoms provided for not only by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, but also by special laws and international acts. Restrictions on rights and freedoms associated with mental disorder are permissible only in cases provided for by the laws of the Russian Federation.