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Mental Health Court

Supreme Court - criminal

The Mental Health Court decides the state of mind of people charged with criminal offences.

A criminal case can be referred to the Mental Health Court if it is believed that the alleged offender:

is mentally ill
was mentally ill
has an intellectual disability; and
at the relevant time was deprived of a relevant capacity (Criminal Code, s. 27).

The court will decide if the alleged offender was of unsound mind when they committed the offence.

The court also hears appeals from the Mental Health Review Tribunal and inquires into the lawfulness of patients’ detention in authorised mental health facilities.

The court is constituted by judges of the Supreme Court of Queensland.

The court is advised by two assisting psychiatrists drawn from the following panel.

Adjunct Professor J M Lawrence
Associate Professor F T Varghese
Associate Professor G J Byrne
Dr E N McVie
Dr J N Chalk
Dr A S Davidson

Assisting psychiatrists advise the court on the meaning and significance of clinical evidence and issues relating to the treatment and detention needs of people under the Mental Health Act 2000.

The following legislation may assist you:

The following practice notes may assist you:

PN	Date	Title
2002/01	15/03/2002	Court dress
2002/02	15/03/2002	Proclamations in the Mental Health Court
2002/03	08/04/2002	Facsimile filing
2002/04	08/04/2002	Email communication with the registry
2002/05	15/04/2002	Court proceeding numbers
2002/06	15/04/2002	Documents filed in the Mental Health Court
2003/01	30/07/2003	Applications to withdraw references
2003/02	16/10/2003	Amendment of references - Notice of appeal, applications
2004/01	27/07/2004	Subpoenas to produce documents
2005/01	12/10/2005	Publication of reports and decisions relating to appeals against decisions of the Mental Health Review Tribunal

Last updated Friday, 21 November 2008 15:16