Facts
The complainant P. suffered from catatonic schizophrenia and was admitted several times to the Psychiatric University Clinic Basel (PUK). During his hospital stays, he was partially treated with neuroleptics, sometimes he consented to the medication, sometimes it was administered against his resistance. On December 25, 2000, P. was admitted to the PUK by a doctor from the health department and a guardianship detention was ordered. The clinic requested the continuation of the guardianship detention and authorization for medical treatment against P.'s resistance.
The Psychiatric Appeals Commission dismissed the appeal against the admission and approved P.'s detention until the end of February 2001. Against this decision, P. filed a constitutional complaint with the Federal Court and demanded the abolition of the forced medication.
Considerations
The Federal Court reviewed the application of cantonal law with free cognition and checked whether a predominant interest justified the forced medication and whether it appeared proportionate and respected the core content of the invoked fundamental rights.
The court found that the forced medication constitutes a serious infringement of personal freedom and affects human dignity. It examined the requirements for forced medication under the Psychiatric Law…