[Was forensic psychiatry in Poland abused for political reasons?]

Abstract

With the aim of answering the question whether Polish forensic psychiatry was misused for political purposes the authors formulate several discussion question and try to describe the conditions protecting human rights of the person who is of interest to psychiatry and the law. The difficulties with formulating the concepts which define "misuse" are a result of the lack of more in-depth empirical research into this issue, the danger of using judgmental arguments and the need to retain an emotional distance in relation to the problem. While avoiding an unequivocal answer to this question several specific questions were selected, which may be helpful in formulating a more general assessment. The complexity and the polymorphous nature of the conditions which must be fulfilled before one may speak of the realization of the guarantee of human rights within the field of forensic psychiatry makes it possible to accept the notion that simply the existence of exterior laws regulating this legal issue is not enough to guard against the misuse of psychiatry. Nevertheless, the moral standards of psychiatrists, the legal functioning of the country and the adequacy of current laws in relation to medical knowledge are no less important. Final and unequivocal assessment of the role played by forensic psychiatry in the socio-political life of Poland in the past several decades may not be conducted without unbiased and scientific empirical research.