Question or quarrel: An analysis of the dialogue between judge and patient in the involuntary commitment procedure

Abstract

Over the last several years important changes in legislation on the involuntary commitment procedure have taken place in The Netherlands. In The Netherlands, involuntary commitment is regulated by civil law and by criminal law as far it concerns delinquent patients.’ In this article the civil law arrangements are the object of study. Involuntary commitment can only take place by virtue of a court decision and the requirements of these court decisions have changed considerably in the last few years. In 1985, a research project focusing on these changes in legal requirements in the administration of justice was conducted by the Researchgroup Health Legislation of the Faculty of Law of the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. The major aim of the project was to study the impact of legislative changes in the administration of justice. The main topic of this article will be the way in which the judges conducted hearings with patients in the mental hospital. Before presenting the analysis of the obtained empirical data, however, I will first attempt to outline the larger context of the research project, followed by a description of the major legislative changes and the process which has brought about these changes. Finally, the research design will be briefly presented. The central problem of legislation in the mental health context, and in health care in general, is how legal aims and goals are to be reached and how these aims and goals are influenced by social and political processes; and the specific demands of the two major social systems involved, the mental health system and the legal system. The involuntary commitment procedure in The Nether-