Law Commission assesses the inability to stand trial in court
Summary
'Unfitness to Plead: A Consultation Paper’ (Consultation Paper 197) discusses current law on an individual's unfitness to plead or to be tried in criminal proceedings.
The current law is concerned with whether or not an accused is able to stand trial and, if not, the procedure that should be used to deal with that accused.
Where there is an issue of unfitness to plead it is not the accused’s guilt that is considered but whether they are ‘under a disability’ and if so, the jury must determine whether or not the accused did the act or made the omission charged.
The analysis of the modern law on unfitness to plead is set within the broader context of the law relating to vulnerable defendants, the 'Mental Health Act 1983' as amended by the 'Mental Health Act 2007', and the 'Mental Capacity Act 2005'.
A number of proposals are put forward in the paper; primarily, that there should be a new revised single legal test which assesses whether the accused has decision-making capacity for trial. The test should not require that any decision the accused makes be rational or wise.
Found this story interesting?
Spread the news by
clicking below to add it to your bookmarking service: