Parliament Sets Review of Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Every Two Months

Parliament adopted on an expedited basis amendments concerning the procedure for conducting involuntary psychiatric treatment, assessing the grounds for its continuation, and discharging a person from an inpatient facility. The amendments were introduced into the Law on Mental Health, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Administrative Procedure Code.

Under the current legislation, a criminal court judge orders involuntary psychiatric treatment for a period of up to 4 years.

Under the law adopted today, a special commission of the psychiatric institution will review the treatment every two months from the date it was ordered and examine whether the grounds on which involuntary treatment was ordered still exist. The commission's decision, in cases of both involuntary and non-voluntary psychiatric treatment, will be appealed through the administrative procedure.

Once every 6 months from the date treatment was ordered, the administration of the psychiatric institution will send the commission's decision, together with the documentation, to the court. The court will examine whether the grounds on which the person was subjected to treatment still exist. The attending physician will still have the authority to apply to the commission at any time if they believe the patient has recovered ahead of schedule.

According to Georgian Dream deputies, the amendments were introduced due to a decision of the Constitutional Court. On April 30, 2026, the court upheld the lawsuit filed by the Public Defender, which challenged the grounds for involuntary psychiatric treatment, the court's authority to apply this treatment, and the duration of the treatment.