Development of the Draft of Law (Mental Health Act)

Mental health acts have been developed in different countries to protect human and civil rights of people with psychiatric disorders. In Iran, although there are some scattered laws within the existing body of laws, there is no separate mental health act. The aim of the present project was to prepare a draft pertaining to the mental health act in the country.
The draft of the mental health act was developed over three stages. In the first stage, the authors reviewed the existing literature on domestic and foreign codified laws. Thereafter, the selection procedure of one mental health act, which seemed more complete and thorough as a model and guide, took place. Then, various issues were discussed from different vantage points in group sessions; and finally, keeping in mind the cultural aspects, the first draft of the act was prepared. The draft was sent to a number of mental health experts, organizations, governmental and non-governmental institutions, and their views were summarized and categorized. Following that, the disputed issues were presented at a national workshop in which various experts and stakeholders participated. Their opinions were summed up and the initial draft was finalized. In the second stage, at the Center for Ethics and History of Medicine, where a number of lawyers participated, the draft was converted into the form of legal codes (articles) and like the first stage, the opinions of legal experts, judicial authorities and a large number of universities, governmental and non-governmental organizations were obtained. In order to make the final decision, the conflicting views were addressed at a second national workshop, where the final corrections were made, and the draft spanning 10 chapters and 112 articles was prepared. In the third stage, considering the suggestion of the legal office of the Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Education, the prepared text was revised and the draft was condensed into 50 articles.
The first draft of the mental health act was developed over 8 years and included six chapters and 50 articles. The draft includes chapters on Definitions, Hospitalization, Involuntary Treatment, Special Treatment Methods, special groups, and other provisions.