title: From paranoia querulans to vexatious litigants: a short study on madness between psychiatry and the law. Part 2.
abstract: The second part of this paper examines the history of querulous paranoia and vexatious litigation in the English-speaking countries from the nineteenth century to today. This study suggests that the lack of thorough research on querulous paranoia in these countries is due to a broad cultural, legal and medical context which has caused unreasonable complainants to be considered a purely legal, rather than a medical issue. To support this hypothesis, I analyse how legal steps have been taken throughout the English-speaking world since 1896 to keep the unreasonable complainants at bay, and I present reasons why medical measures have scarcely been adopted. However, I also submit evidence that this division of responsibilities between the judges and the psychiatrists has taken a new turn since the dawn of the twenty-first century.
authors.affiliation: Université Paris-7 Diderot and Paris-5 Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité benjamin.levy@outlook.fr.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lévy
mesh_terms: D044362:Australasia; D003702:Delusions / Q000266:history; D044707:Forensic Sciences / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D007603:Jurisprudence / Q000266:history*; D010259:Paranoid Disorders / Q000266:history*; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000266:history* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006113:United Kingdom; D014481:United States
keywords: 20th century; English-speaking countries; forensic sciences; paranoia querulans; psychiatry; vexatious litigants