title: Introducing a standard of legal insanity: The case of Sweden compared to The Netherlands.
abstract: A recent governmental report has suggested that the notion of insanity, which has not been a relevant concept in Swedish criminal law for the last 50years, should be reintroduced into the criminal justice system. This move has generated a debate over the most appropriate criteria to be included in a legal standard for insanity. We consider the fundamental question of whether a legal standard is required when introducing insanity, by looking at a legal system in which legal insanity is available but where no standard is used: The Netherlands. Overall, a review of advantages and disadvantages leads to the conclusion that such a standard is necessary. What exactly should that standard be? Is the development of different "grades" of insanity desirable? Legal considerations concerning what is essentially a legal notion should predominate in making these determinations-informed by psychiatric and other relevant scientific findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science, University of Gothenburg, Sweden; Centre for Ethics, Law and Mental Health, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Electronic address: susanna@filosofi.gu.se.
authors.forename: Susanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Radovic
authors.affiliation: Tilburg Law School, Department of Criminal Law, Tilburg University, The Netherlands; VU University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Philosophy, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Gerben
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Meynen
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ethics, Law and Mental Health, University of Gothenburg, Sweden; Faculty of Law, Lund University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Tova
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bennet
mesh_terms: D003416:Criminal Law; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D006801:Humans; D007298:Insanity Defense; D009426:Netherlands; D013548:Sweden
keywords: Accountability; Insanity defence; Legal insanity; Sweden; The Netherlands