Mental illness and the Lebanese criminal justice system: Practices and challenges

Abstract

Forensic mental health services are a necessity for individuals involved in the criminal justice system. Such services involve two generally independent functions: assessment and treatment. A jurisdiction's legal system is a determinant of how such services are provided and to whom. In our study, we identified the Lebanese laws that address the rights and protections given to a mentally disordered defendant in the criminal justice system. We then analyzed how the Lebanese judicial system interprets and applies the written law in cases where the mental health of the defendant was brought up as an issue. We found that Lebanon's insanity test has a cognitive and a volitional component. However, there does not seem to be a uniform process regulating the use of the insanity defense: statutes do not address the procedural details and the cases we reviewed used various processes to reach their decisions. Based on our findings, we explored avenues for potential improvement in the Lebanese forensic mental health system.