PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Alexander I. F. Simpson
TI  - Commentary: Civil Commitment and Its Reform
DP  - 2015 Mar 01
TA  - Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
PG  - 48--51
VI  - 43
IP  - 1
4099  - http://jaapl.org/content/43/1/48.short
4100  - http://jaapl.org/content/43/1/48.full
SO  - J Am Acad Psychiatry Law2015 Mar 01; 43
AB  - Internationally, civil commitment laws have gone through substantial reforms in the past 50 years. Discernible shifts from the medically paternalistic to the excessively legalistic may be giving way to a blending of legislative intent under the rubric of therapeutic jurisprudence. In the light of those international movements, Shao and Xie describe how China's new mental health law shows the impact of these international and local influences on the development and practice of mental health law in China. The new Law was passed in 2012. It sets a broad vision for mental health services and mental health promotion in Chinese society as well as providing the legal framework for civil commitment. Practicalities of implementation may be highly significant in the success of the legislation.