title: We should replace conventional mental health law with capacity-based law.
abstract: As general medicine moves away from 'paternalism' and places an increasing emphasis on patient choice and autonomy, George Szmukler and Brendan D. Kelly debate whether conventional mental health legislation should be replaced with a model that focuses on the person's decision-making capabilities.
authors.affiliation: For: George Szmukler, MB, BS, MD, FRCPsych, FKC, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, UK. Email: george.szmukler@kcl.ac.uk.|Against: Brendan D. Kelly, MB BCh BAO, MA MSc MA, MD PhD DGov PhD, FRCPsych FRCPI, Department of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, Tallaght Hospital, Dublin 24, Ireland. Email: brendan.kelly@tcd.ie.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Szmukler
authors.affiliation: For: George Szmukler, MB, BS, MD, FRCPsych, FKC, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, UK. Email: george.szmukler@kcl.ac.uk.|Against: Brendan D. Kelly, MB BCh BAO, MA MSc MA, MD PhD DGov PhD, FRCPsych FRCPI, Department of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, Tallaght Hospital, Dublin 24, Ireland. Email: brendan.kelly@tcd.ie.
authors.forename: Brendan D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Kelly
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007883:Legislation, Medical; D016743:Mental Competency / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D008603:Mental Health / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D010358:Patient Participation / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D026684:Personal Autonomy