title: Compulsory treatment and patient responsibility.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Current legislative provisions for compulsory treatment of people with mental illness allow decisions to treat people under compulsion to be made on the basis of presence of a mental illness or mental disorder without consideration of whether the patient has the capacity to make decisions that are in his/her best interest. Issues of autonomy, equity, justice and beneficence in relation to treatment of people with mental illness are explored to determine decision-making rules that should be applied for compulsory mental health treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is proposed that assessment of the capacity of the individual to make decisions in his/her best interest, rather than presence of diagnosable mental illness, should be the key consideration for compulsory mental health treatment.
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Service, Hunter New England Local Health District, and Faculty of Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. Dinesh.Arya@NT.gov.au
authors.forename: Dinesh
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Arya
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D026686:Beneficence; D003657:Decision Making; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D037141:Mandatory Programs / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000592:standards*; D016743:Mental Competency / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D009520:New Zealand; D026684:Personal Autonomy