Trending...
- Governor Newsom honors fallen California Highway Patrol Officer Miguel Cano
- Plan to Launch Silo Technologies' Cybersecurity Pilot Program for Ultimate Nationwide Deployment via Exclusive Partnership: Stock Symbol: BULT
- Governor Newsom marks historic expansion of California's Film and Television Tax Credit Program, announces 16 new projects to film in the Golden State
Italy's top court rules part of involuntary psychiatric law unconstitutional; CCHR urges U.S. to adopt legal protections as WHO, UN, and global courts move to eliminate coercive mental health practices.
LOS ANGELES - Californer -- In what is being widely reported as a landmark human rights decision, Italy's Constitutional Court in May 2025 struck down part of the country's decades-old psychiatric law—Article 35 of Law 833/1978—declaring some of its provisions for involuntary detainment unconstitutional. The ruling affirms that individuals subjected to compulsory psychiatric hospitalization must have the right to challenge such detention in court with legal representation.[1]
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR), based in Los Angeles, hailed the decision as an essential step towards achieving human rights in the mental health field. CCHR said its chapters worldwide are intensifying efforts to urge courts and lawmakers to follow suit and ultimately abolish forced psychiatric hospitalization and treatment. The group called on the United States to replicate—and expand—such protections.
In the U.S., the practice of forced psychiatric detainment has sharply escalated. According to David Cohen, professor of social welfare at UCLA's Luskin School, involuntary psychiatric detentions have increased at a rate three times higher than population growth in recent years.[2]
A 2023 report, Involuntary Civil Commitment: Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Protections, posted on Congress.gov, underscores that such commitments "implicate constitutional concerns and constraints under the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution," particularly regarding the liberty interests of confined individuals. Yet, it notes the U.S. Supreme Court has never conclusively ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees all such protections.[3]
While the Italian court ruling is significant, CCHR notes that it stops short of banning Trattamento Sanitario Obbligatorio (TSO), the Italian legal framework for compulsory psychiatric hospitalization.[4] The U.S. similarly authorizes involuntary psychiatric treatment through legislative orders. In both countries, forced interventions remain legal despite mounting ethical criticism.
More on The Californer
Coercion in mental health settings has increasingly drawn global condemnation. Critics argue that forced psychiatric treatment fundamentally violates human dignity and autonomy. A 2023 study in BMC Psychiatry concluded that coercion is incompatible with human rights and "should be avoided as far as possible."[5] That same year, The Lancet warned that coercive psychiatric practices override patients' fundamental rights, and that approaches to reduce coercion are possible, and the cost of implementing them is minimal compared to the damage caused by forced interventions.[6]
Italy's decision follows another recent victory involving CCHR efforts in Europe. In Hungary, CCHR collaborated with legal experts to secure a Constitutional Court ruling that found Parliament had failed to provide legal avenues for individuals unlawfully detained in psychiatric facilities to seek compensation. Following sustained advocacy by CCHR Hungary, others, the Court and the President of the Republic, a new regulation was enacted on December 20, 2024, guaranteeing—for the first time—the legal right to compensation for victims of unlawful psychiatric detention.[7]
CCHR's international work continues to gain recognition. On June 2, 2025, New Zealand CCHR volunteer Victor Boyd was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit by King Charles III. The honor recognized his 50-year campaign with CCHR to expose coercive psychiatric practices, particularly those used against children at the now-closed Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital's Child and Adolescent Unit. Boyd's relentless advocacy through CCHR helped prompt a formal government acknowledgement of the abuse and torture carried out by a psychiatrist heading the unit. The award is endorsed by the New Zealand Prime Minister and the Parliamentary Cabinet.[8]
Momentum is also growing at the global policy level. The World Health Organization (WHO) released its Guidance on Mental Health Policy and Strategic Action Plan in April 2025, recommending the prohibition of involuntary psychiatric practices—including forced hospitalization and treatment—and affirming individuals' right to refuse such treatment. The WHO and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have repeatedly called for mental health systems to move away from coercion and adopt rights-respecting, support-based alternative approaches.
These international reforms are grounded in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which Italy ratified in 2009. The CRPD explicitly rejects coercive interventions in mental health care. Its General Comment No. 1 affirms that all individuals—regardless of disability status—retain full legal capacity and must be supported, not substituted, in making decisions about their lives and health.[9]
More on The Californer
Since its founding in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and professor of psychiatry, Dr. Thomas Szasz, CCHR has worked alongside survivors, whistleblowers, and international legal experts to expose systemic psychiatric abuse and advocate for transparent, non-coercive mental health care. The growing international rulings, government acknowledgements, and awards highlight a turning tide—and CCHR says now is the time for the United States to implement legal reforms that respect the rights, liberty, and dignity of all individuals in mental health settings.
Sources:
[1] "CCHR Encourages Italy to Complete Full Mental Health Reform After Court Ruling on Forced Treatment," European Times, 5 June 2025, europeantimes.news/2025/06/cchr-italy-full-mental-health-reform-court-ruling-forced-treatment/
[2] www.einnews.com/pr_news/656273520/new-who-mental-health-guideline-condemns-coercive-psychiatric-practices; "Study finds involuntary psychiatric detentions on the rise," UCLA Newsroom, 3 Nov. 2020, newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/involuntary-psychiatric-detentions-on-the-rise
[3] Hannah-Alise Rogers, "Involuntary Civil Commitment: Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Protections," Health Care; Law, Constitution & Civil Liberties, 24 May 2023, www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47571
[4] "CCHR Encourages Italy to Complete Full Mental Health Reform After Court Ruling on Forced Treatment," European Times, 5 June 2025, europeantimes.news/2025/06/cchr-italy-full-mental-health-reform-court-ruling-forced-treatment/
[5] Eva Brekke, et al., "Patients' experiences with coercive mental health treatment in Flexible Assertive Community Treatment: a qualitative study," BMC Psychiatry, 18 Oct. 2023, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37853402/
[6] Beate Wild, et al., "Reduction of coercion in psychiatric hospitals: how can this be achieved?" The Lancet, Dec. 2023, www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(23)00214-4/fulltext
[7] www.cchrint.org/2025/05/17/apa-faces-outrage-child-deaths-mental-health-failure/
[8] "King's Birthday Honours: Advocate dedicates award to survivors of abuse in care," RNZ, 2 June 2025, www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/562817/king-s-birthday-honours-advocate-dedicates-award-to-survivors-of-abuse-in-care; "Abuses in psychiatric care: The shameful story of the Lake Alice Child and Adolescent unit in Aotearoa New Zealand," Aust N Z J Psychiatry, 2023 Sep;57(9):1193-1197, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10466991/; www.cchrint.org/2021/07/01/cchrs-work-acknowledged-nz-inquiry-lake-alice-psychiatric-child-torture/
[9] "CCHR Encourages Italy to Complete Full Mental Health Reform After Court Ruling on Forced Treatment," European Times, 5 June 2025, europeantimes.news/2025/06/cchr-italy-full-mental-health-reform-court-ruling-forced-treatment/
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR), based in Los Angeles, hailed the decision as an essential step towards achieving human rights in the mental health field. CCHR said its chapters worldwide are intensifying efforts to urge courts and lawmakers to follow suit and ultimately abolish forced psychiatric hospitalization and treatment. The group called on the United States to replicate—and expand—such protections.
In the U.S., the practice of forced psychiatric detainment has sharply escalated. According to David Cohen, professor of social welfare at UCLA's Luskin School, involuntary psychiatric detentions have increased at a rate three times higher than population growth in recent years.[2]
A 2023 report, Involuntary Civil Commitment: Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Protections, posted on Congress.gov, underscores that such commitments "implicate constitutional concerns and constraints under the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution," particularly regarding the liberty interests of confined individuals. Yet, it notes the U.S. Supreme Court has never conclusively ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees all such protections.[3]
While the Italian court ruling is significant, CCHR notes that it stops short of banning Trattamento Sanitario Obbligatorio (TSO), the Italian legal framework for compulsory psychiatric hospitalization.[4] The U.S. similarly authorizes involuntary psychiatric treatment through legislative orders. In both countries, forced interventions remain legal despite mounting ethical criticism.
More on The Californer
- Skool Alternatives Reddit: Skool vs Circle vs Whop - Did you join one yet?
- Southern Soul Artist Moe Z Releases New Single 'Set It Out' Distributed by Morris Day Entertainment
- SacraPod Suites Unveils AI-Powered 'Work + Rest' Smart Hospitality Model for Retrofitting Underused Motels Across the U.S
- Green Jacket Gateway" System: Your Definitive Path to Golfing Greatness
- From Real Estate to Reel Power: H.L Woods Carves His Legacy as a Cutting-Edge Visionary Filmmaker
Coercion in mental health settings has increasingly drawn global condemnation. Critics argue that forced psychiatric treatment fundamentally violates human dignity and autonomy. A 2023 study in BMC Psychiatry concluded that coercion is incompatible with human rights and "should be avoided as far as possible."[5] That same year, The Lancet warned that coercive psychiatric practices override patients' fundamental rights, and that approaches to reduce coercion are possible, and the cost of implementing them is minimal compared to the damage caused by forced interventions.[6]
Italy's decision follows another recent victory involving CCHR efforts in Europe. In Hungary, CCHR collaborated with legal experts to secure a Constitutional Court ruling that found Parliament had failed to provide legal avenues for individuals unlawfully detained in psychiatric facilities to seek compensation. Following sustained advocacy by CCHR Hungary, others, the Court and the President of the Republic, a new regulation was enacted on December 20, 2024, guaranteeing—for the first time—the legal right to compensation for victims of unlawful psychiatric detention.[7]
CCHR's international work continues to gain recognition. On June 2, 2025, New Zealand CCHR volunteer Victor Boyd was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit by King Charles III. The honor recognized his 50-year campaign with CCHR to expose coercive psychiatric practices, particularly those used against children at the now-closed Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital's Child and Adolescent Unit. Boyd's relentless advocacy through CCHR helped prompt a formal government acknowledgement of the abuse and torture carried out by a psychiatrist heading the unit. The award is endorsed by the New Zealand Prime Minister and the Parliamentary Cabinet.[8]
Momentum is also growing at the global policy level. The World Health Organization (WHO) released its Guidance on Mental Health Policy and Strategic Action Plan in April 2025, recommending the prohibition of involuntary psychiatric practices—including forced hospitalization and treatment—and affirming individuals' right to refuse such treatment. The WHO and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have repeatedly called for mental health systems to move away from coercion and adopt rights-respecting, support-based alternative approaches.
These international reforms are grounded in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which Italy ratified in 2009. The CRPD explicitly rejects coercive interventions in mental health care. Its General Comment No. 1 affirms that all individuals—regardless of disability status—retain full legal capacity and must be supported, not substituted, in making decisions about their lives and health.[9]
More on The Californer
- Luxury Auto Detailing Brings High-End Mobile Car Care to Cherry Valley and Surrounding Areas
- Transgender Visual Artist Debuts New Work
- Stay Cool All Day With BGMgirl Drawstring Half Wigs
- California: Governor Newsom proclaims Independence Day 2025
- Gundam GQuuuuuuX Takes Center Stage at Anime Expo 2025
Since its founding in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and professor of psychiatry, Dr. Thomas Szasz, CCHR has worked alongside survivors, whistleblowers, and international legal experts to expose systemic psychiatric abuse and advocate for transparent, non-coercive mental health care. The growing international rulings, government acknowledgements, and awards highlight a turning tide—and CCHR says now is the time for the United States to implement legal reforms that respect the rights, liberty, and dignity of all individuals in mental health settings.
Sources:
[1] "CCHR Encourages Italy to Complete Full Mental Health Reform After Court Ruling on Forced Treatment," European Times, 5 June 2025, europeantimes.news/2025/06/cchr-italy-full-mental-health-reform-court-ruling-forced-treatment/
[2] www.einnews.com/pr_news/656273520/new-who-mental-health-guideline-condemns-coercive-psychiatric-practices; "Study finds involuntary psychiatric detentions on the rise," UCLA Newsroom, 3 Nov. 2020, newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/involuntary-psychiatric-detentions-on-the-rise
[3] Hannah-Alise Rogers, "Involuntary Civil Commitment: Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Protections," Health Care; Law, Constitution & Civil Liberties, 24 May 2023, www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47571
[4] "CCHR Encourages Italy to Complete Full Mental Health Reform After Court Ruling on Forced Treatment," European Times, 5 June 2025, europeantimes.news/2025/06/cchr-italy-full-mental-health-reform-court-ruling-forced-treatment/
[5] Eva Brekke, et al., "Patients' experiences with coercive mental health treatment in Flexible Assertive Community Treatment: a qualitative study," BMC Psychiatry, 18 Oct. 2023, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37853402/
[6] Beate Wild, et al., "Reduction of coercion in psychiatric hospitals: how can this be achieved?" The Lancet, Dec. 2023, www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(23)00214-4/fulltext
[7] www.cchrint.org/2025/05/17/apa-faces-outrage-child-deaths-mental-health-failure/
[8] "King's Birthday Honours: Advocate dedicates award to survivors of abuse in care," RNZ, 2 June 2025, www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/562817/king-s-birthday-honours-advocate-dedicates-award-to-survivors-of-abuse-in-care; "Abuses in psychiatric care: The shameful story of the Lake Alice Child and Adolescent unit in Aotearoa New Zealand," Aust N Z J Psychiatry, 2023 Sep;57(9):1193-1197, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10466991/; www.cchrint.org/2021/07/01/cchrs-work-acknowledged-nz-inquiry-lake-alice-psychiatric-child-torture/
[9] "CCHR Encourages Italy to Complete Full Mental Health Reform After Court Ruling on Forced Treatment," European Times, 5 June 2025, europeantimes.news/2025/06/cchr-italy-full-mental-health-reform-court-ruling-forced-treatment/
Source: Citizens Commission on Human Rights International
Filed Under: Consumer, Medical, Health, Government, Science, Citizens Commission On Human Rights, CCHR International
0 Comments
Latest on The Californer
- $18 Price Target Issued in New Research Report After $34 Million Revenue Forecast from Acquisition; $101.5 Million Net Revenue in 2025; NAS DAQ: IQST
- West Dentistry Welcomes New Oral Surgeon to Enhance Patient Care
- The AML Shop Launches New Financial Investigations Unit, Appoints Director to Lead the Initiative
- Raidium révolutionne le diagnostic de la Sclérose en Plaques en partenariat avec l'Hôpital Fondation Adolphe de Rothschild
- Porta Potty USA Expands its Convenient Portable Restroom Rental Services Business in Montana Area
- Countrywide Fence Rental Expands its Temporary Fence Rental Business in Minnesota Area
- A Shepherd's Legacy: Honoring the Life and Impact of Pastor Ross Reinman
- California: Here's how President Trump's tax cuts for the ultra-rich will hurt YOU
- New Media Film Festival Announces Winners
- New Podcast "Spreading the Good BUZZ" Hosted by Josh and Heidi Case Launches July 7th with Explosive Global Reach and a Mission to Transform Lives
- DetailAxis Unveils it's 'Business Engine': Powerful AI Systems for Auto Appearance Pros
- California: Governor Newsom announces appointments 7.2.25
- The Herbal Care, Led by Markel Bababekov, Becomes a Top Dispensary in NYC's Upper East Side
- Digital Watchdog Launches New myDW Cloud Services
- Governor Newsom honors fallen California Highway Patrol Officer Miguel Cano
- Stan Fitzgerald Appointed Acting Press Secretary for Veterans for America First VFAF Georgia State Chapter
- Drone Light Shows Emerge as the New Standard in Live Event Entertainment
- Lore Link is Here to Help Organize Your Game
- Governor Newsom marks historic expansion of California's Film and Television Tax Credit Program, announces 16 new projects to film in the Golden State
- Talar Guedikian Named Winner of 2025 AAJ Paralegal of the Year Award, Sponsored by Advocate Capital