Compulsory Outpatient Treatment and the Calculus of Human Rights

Abstract

This article considers whether it is a breach of human rights principles to treat patients involuntarily under a community treatment order (CTO) regime who do not pose an imminent threat of serious harm to themselves or others. The author argues that human rights principles would require the release from a CTO of a person in this situation on some occasions, but not others. The article reviews the central human rights principles that apply to CTOs and analyses the main powers over patients that these orders confer. It concludes that, when considering whether to extend the CTO of a patient, the decision should strike a fair balance between protecting the patient’s rights and recognising important justifications for their limitation.