Forensic Psychiatric Assessment. Comparative Methodological Study between Switzerland and Romania
Forensic Psychiatric Assessment. Comparative Methodological Study between Switzerland and Romania

Summary/Abstract: Forensic psychiatry is a branch of psychiatry, which encompasses the interface between psychiatry and law, and involves knowledge from both fields. Although there are undeniable methodological differences among the forensic psychiatry systems of various countries worldwide, its principles and purposes are mainly the same. They consist of: determining an existing mental illness, describing before a court of law its impact on that person’s mental capacity, competence and responsibility, and recommending therapeutic approaches of dangerous and/or delinquent mental patients in order to prevent mental illness relapses and to prevent them from repeating their antisocial deeds. Our research focuses on comparing the specific features of this type of assessment in Romania and in Switzerland, and its purpose is to share the expertise acquired by the two systems. We found differences as concerns the terms employed in the forensic psychiatric assessment reports and in the legal codes, objectives set by the court of law, medical actions taken and, partly, the actual manner in which these assessments are done. We laid an emphasis on our country’s adoption of the latest international terminology.

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