Chapter I: Rights of persons under psychiatric care.

A person may not, without his consent or, where appropriate, without the authorisation of his legal representative, if he is a minor, or that of the person responsible for his protection, if he is an adult subject to a legal protection measure with representation relating to the person, be the subject of psychiatric care, except in the cases provided for in Chapters II to IV of this Title and those…

A person undergoing psychiatric care with their consent for mental disorders is said to be in free psychiatric care. They have the same rights to exercise individual freedoms as those granted to patients being treated for any other reason. This type of care is preferred when the patient’s condition permits.

I.-A person undergoing psychiatric care pursuant to Chapters II and III of this Title or Article 706-135 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is said to be in psychiatric care without consent. The person is cared for : 1° Either in the form of full hospitalisation in an establishment mentioned in article L. 3222-1 of the present code ; 2° Or in any other form, which may include outpatient care,…

When a person is admitted for psychiatric care pursuant to Chapters II or III of this Title, he/she is subject to a period of observation and initial care in the form of full hospitalisation. Within twenty-four hours of admission, a doctor will carry out a full somatic examination of the person and a psychiatrist from the host establishment will draw up a medical certificate stating the person’s mental state and…

When a person who meets the conditions for admission to psychiatric care under Chapters II and III of this Title is taken into emergency care by a health care establishment which does not provide care for persons subject to psychiatric care under Article L. 3222-1, the care of persons subject to psychiatric care under Chapters II to IV of this Title or underArticle 706-135 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,…

When a person suffering from a mental disorder is the subject of psychiatric care pursuant to the provisions of Chapters II and III of this Title or is transported for the purpose of such care, the restrictions on the exercise of his personal freedoms must be appropriate, necessary and proportionate to his mental state and to the implementation of the treatment required. In all circumstances, the person’s dignity must be…

A therapeutic protocol practised in psychiatry can only be implemented in strict compliance with the deontological and ethical rules in force.

A person undergoing psychiatric care, whether or not in the form of full hospitalisation, on account of a mental disorder, retains all his rights and duties as a citizen at the end of such care, subject to the provisions relating to measures for the protection of adults set out in sections 1 to 4 of Chapter II of Title XI of Book I of the Civil Code, without being able…

Except with the authorisation of the court, it is forbidden, on pain of nullity, for anyone holding an office or employment in an establishment providing psychiatric care to acquire property or transfer a right belonging to a person admitted to the establishment or to lease accommodation occupied by that person prior to his admission to the establishment. For the purposes of this article, the spouse, partner in a civil solidarity…

A doctor who ascertains that the person he is caring for needs protection in the acts of civil life, for one of the reasons set out in article 425 of the Civil Code, may make a declaration to the public prosecutor at the place of treatment. This declaration has the effect of placing the patient under legal protection if it is accompanied by the opinion of a psychiatrist. When a…