Simple mental abnormalities or partial delusions, irresistible impulses or the compulsive behavior of a psychopath are not protected by § 84 of the Criminal Code. [16] A uniform assessment procedure for all patients claiming to be mentally ill is absolutely necessary. It is regrettable that there are no such standard procedures in our country to date. Psychiatrists are often called upon to perform mental health examinations and treatments. In addition to processing, courts may also require various certificates. This is reflected, for example, in the Disability Services Act 1986 (Cth), where the very narrow definition of `disability` is limited to conditions that are `permanent or likely to be`. Nevertheless, it is important to take into account the social model of disability which, although constantly evolving, is widely preferred by disability rights advocates. Although the social model does not deny the limitations of the individual, it understands disability as a function of “society`s inability to provide adequate services and to adequately ensure that the needs of persons with disabilities are fully taken into account in its social organization”.14 This contrasts with “official” definitions that place disability in the pathology or biology of the individual.15 An important study Australia, which applied the social model, was the New South Wales Disability Council. 2003 Report A Matter of Justice.16 Here, the model was used to “shift attention from issues of individual disability to issues of systemic disability,” identifying as a source of disability not disability itself, but socially and economically constructed discrimination and exclusion, that is, society`s responses to disability. Carney suggests that the social model is now widely accepted in the disability literature, with policies also moving away from the traditional medical model towards a more nuanced understanding, emphasizing “participation” rather than “disability”.17 Given the nature of assessment and the law, it is assumed that everyone is healthy. Until proven otherwise, it is advisable to start the evaluation in the same direction. The psychiatrist should initially refuse to make a definitive diagnosis.
The diagnosis should remain open or a preliminary diagnosis should be considered. After collecting information from all possible sources, based on serial mental state examination, serial observation, psychological tests and laboratory tests, the psychiatrist must make an honest objective assessment and give his opinion on the patient`s life diagnosis and current mental state. It should also make a serious effort to comment on the mental state of the accused during the commission of the crime. It should be noted that the symptoms listed above in the Mental Health Act 1990 (NSW) are most often associated with the diagnosis of psychosis, a specific and more severe form of mental illness. Other more common mental illnesses, such as anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse, do not necessarily meet the definition of this law.8 Simply put, legal insanity means that the person should be suffering from a mental illness at the time the act was committed and should also have a loss of reasoning. This issue is clearly presented in Article 84 of the ICC as the person who is incapable of knowing: Article 84 establishes the legal review of responsibility in cases of alleged crimes committed by a person with mental illness. There is no definition of “insanity” in the IPC. However, the courts have treated this expression primarily as a mental illness. But the term “insanity” itself has no precise definition, has different meanings in different contexts, and describes different degrees of mental disorder. [19] Not all persons with mental illness are ipso facto exempt from criminal responsibility. A distinction must be made between legal insanity and medical insanity.
A court deals with legal insanity, not medical insanity. [16,19] Anyone suffering from any type of mental illness is called “medical insanity,” but “legal insanity” means that a person with mental illness should also have a loss of reasoning power.