On 12 March 2024, the Committee of Ministers ended its supervision of the execution of the European Court’s judgment in X v. Finland concerning extensions of confinement in psychiatric hospitals and forcible administration of medication without adequate legal safeguards.
The case had been pending under the Committee’s supervision since 2012 and under its enhanced supervision since 2021. In response to the judgment, the Mental Health Act was amended in 2014 to provide patients with a right to request a second independent opinion before involuntary confinement is extended and to initiate themselves an appeal against the extension of involuntary confinement. Furthermore, on 12 January 2024, the President of the Republic of Finland ratified legal amendments to the Mental Health Act and the Administrative Court Act (which will enter into force on 1 April 2024) which provide for a judicial remedy enabling patients to challenge decisions about forcible administration of medication directly before the administrative courts.
