Habeas corpus petition by psychiatric patient

Press, 5 December 1985, Page 4

Habeas corpus petition by psychiatric patient

PA Palmerston North A Lake Alice psychiatric patient is about to file a habeas corpus petition in the High Court against his detention at the hospital. It is the first time such a petition has been used in a psychiatric case in New Zealand. The Mental Health Foundation’s legal officer, Mr John Dawson, said the case would be taken to the High Court in Wellington and heard before the end of

the year. The case was originally to be heard in Palmerston North, but the High Court there has been adjourned for the year. The patient was committed to Lake Alice in May, 1984, while he was serving a short prison sentence. He is now in a maximum security villa at the hospital. Patients who are committed can be held indefinitely. Mr Dawson said that by filing a petition, the patient would force the hospital to establish the legality of his

continued detention. “He believes he is unlawfully held there,” he said. Dr Disse Siriwardema, superintendent of Lake Alice Hospital, would not comment on the case but he said patients were frequently seen by an independent review committee, which assessed them and decided whether detention should continue. “The system has been working satisfactorily over the years,” he said.