Mental health law outlines the diagnosis, treatment and protection of mental health patients. Below we explore mental health law in more detail, examine how it works and look at what it covers. We also hear from legal professionals on why mental health law is important and how it could change in the future.
Written by Grant Longstaff. Published 9 October 2026.
What is mental health law?
Mental health law outlines how people with mental health conditions are assessed and treated, both medically and socially, with the overall aim of better helping and protecting individuals.
Mental health law in England and Wales
The Mental Health Act 1983 is currently the main piece of legislation in England and Wales and “covers the assessment, treatment and rights of people with a mental health disorder”. It has undergone several reviews in its lifespan and subsequent amendments have been made since its introduction.
The most significant of these took place in 2018 when an independent review of the act was carried out and made several recommendations to better reflect current understanding and treatment of mental health. The report set our four key recommendations, which were:
- Choice and autonomy - ensuring service users’ views and choices are respected.
- Least restriction – ensuring the Act’s powers are used in the least restrictive way.
- Therapeutic benefit – ensuring patients are supported to get better, so they can be discharged from the Act.
- People as individuals – ensuring patients are viewed and treated as rounded individuals.
The review led to a bill to amend the Mental Health Act. The bill was passed by parliament in December 2025; however, it will likely be several years before the changes are made to the law and fully implemented.
What does The Mental Health Act cover?
The Mental Health Act is a significant piece of legislation and as a result covers many aspects of mental health, particularly in relation to how individuals with a mental health disorder are detained. Jo Ellis, Senior Lecturer in Academic Law explains further: “Anyone with a mental health disorder may be admitted to hospital. Someone can be ‘sectioned’ and made to stay in hospital without their consent, but this is not always the case. It’s possible to voluntarily admit yourself to hospital for assessment or treatment; no compulsory detention is required.”
The Mental Health Act also provides guidance on how an individual is assessed and treated once they’re sectioned or have admitted themselves voluntarily. It also covers how long an individual can stay in hospital, their discharge from care and how treatment may continue once they’re back in the community.
Laws which protect mental health
There’s more to mental health law than the Mental Health Act. Like many areas of the law mental health isn’t covered by just one act, but many, and is shaped by statutory law, case law and civil law.
The Equality Act 2010 protects individuals from discrimination at work, in education and in public, among other things, and mental health problems could be considered a disability under this act. The Human Rights Act 1998 is also important for protecting individual rights. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 can help protect individuals if they lose the capacity to make decisions for themselves and the Care Act 2014 outlines how local authorities manage adult social care across England. All of these, and many more, contribute and shape mental health law.
Why is mental health law important?
The mental health charity, Mind, reported one in four people will experience a mental health problem each year in England and “[the] number of people with common mental health problems went up by 45% between 1993 and 2023/24, in both men and women.” These figures alone indicate why mental health law is more important than ever.
Mental health law can:
- Protect individual rights
- Prevent harm to oneself and others
- Prevent medical malpractice
- Guide medical assessment and access to treatment
- Challenge prejudice and discrimination
- Support mental health professionals
Programme and Student Lead, Kate Smith said: “Mental health will impact all of us, whether we experience it ourselves perhaps as lawyers in the workplace, have friends or family affected, or act for or advise patients needing advice specifically on this area.”
The future of mental health law
We asked Alumnus Peterkin Ofori, Director and a Consultant Lawyer at Mental Capacity Consult Ltd, about the future of mental health law. He said: “[It] is likely to evolve significantly as society continues to recognise the importance of mental health and as new challenges and opportunities arise. I foresee the expansion of mental health rights to give broader legal protection for individuals with mental health conditions… I also anticipate legal recognition of emerging mental health issues, such as those related to digital addiction, trauma from climate change or the mental health impacts of social media.”
The Mental Health Act 2025 amendments were welcomed by organisations like Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, however there is still work to do in the sector with the latter stating that “although the new Act aims to modernise mental health law and strengthen rights, there are significant concerns about how well it will work in practice. Much depends on services having enough staff, resources and community alternatives, without which stronger legal rights may not translate into real change.”
They also raised concerns around racial inequality, as well as the safeguarding of children, young people, individuals with learning disabilities and people with autism. “We must see adequate funding for community services to address any potential unintended consequences for people with learning disabilities and autism under the new Act. The changes affecting children and young people detained under the Mental Health Act will need to be very carefully managed.”
Our LLM in Mental Health Law is the perfect place to start if you want to play a part of changing mental health law for the better.
