Abstract

This essay aims to examine some problems related to the current Italian law about obligatory health treatments for mental illness, the so called “Basaglia Lawµ. In particular, the essay sheds light on three problematic aspects: the lawfulness of the mechanical restraint, the legal provision of determinate conditions that should be met for ordering the obligatory treatment regarding mental illness, and, finally, the consistency between the norms about the obligatory treatment and the current set-up of constitutional values. The purpose of this analysis is to suggest some amendments, which, pursuing the path opened by Basaglia, can increase the protections of those who suffer from mental illnesses.