Winterwerp v Netherlands
(1979) 2 EHRR 387
Ratio Decidendi
Detention on the ground of unsoundness of mind is only lawful under Article 5(1)(e) ECHR if the individual is reliably shown by objective medical expertise to be of unsound mind, the disorder is of a kind or degree warranting compulsory confinement, and the detention continues only so long as the disorder persists.
Fakty
Mr Winterwerp was confined in a Dutch psychiatric hospital for years under emergency and continuing detention orders. He argued his rights under Article 5 ECHR had been breached because there was insufficient review of his continued detention.
Podsumowanie orzeczenia
The ECtHR established the 'Winterwerp criteria': three minimum conditions for lawful detention of a person of unsound mind. The detention must be based on objective medical evidence, the mental disorder must warrant confinement, and continued detention requires the disorder's persistence to be established.
Kluczowe cytaty
"Except in emergency cases, the individual concerned should not be deprived of his liberty unless he has been reliably shown to be of 'unsound mind'."
— ECtHR
Późniejsze zastosowanie
Consistently applied in English mental health law as the foundational test for lawful psychiatric detention.
Applied by the Supreme Court in MM v Secretary of State [2017] and throughout Mental Health Tribunal jurisprudence.