In the case of Spivak v. Ukraine the Court held that there had been several violations of the Convention.

The case concerned the applicant’s compulsory psychiatric treatment at the National High Security Psychiatric Hospital as ordered by a criminal court. It had found that he had committed attempted murder, but was exempt from criminal responsibility on the basis of his mental state at the time of the offence. He had been unable to initiate court proceedings to review the lawfulness of his continued confinement or to challenge the medical treatment administered against his will.

The Court found that the applicant’s continued psychiatric detention in the hospital after the termination of coercive medical measures by a court had been unlawful and that the hearings on the continuation of his compulsory in-patient medical treatment had not met the basic requirements of justice.

• Press release