Aspects on the Constitutional Imperative and Domestic Legislation in Context of Mental Health Care Law in South Africa
Main Article Content
Abstract
The scope and purpose of this paper is to deal with the constitutional position and domestic legislation in the context of mental health care law in South Africa. Focus is placed on the constitutional[i] protection that exists for mentally ill patients in South Africa. A selective discussion of the Mental Health Care Act[ii] is also pivotal as the Act provides for the adequate care, treatment and rehabilitation services pertaining to mentally ill patients. The Mental Health Care Act also makes provision for a Mental Health Review Board that oversee the Mental Health Regulation in South Africa
[i] The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
[ii] The Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002.
Article Details
How to Cite
M, Acevedo-Nuevo et al.
Aspects on the Constitutional Imperative and Domestic Legislation in Context of Mental Health Care Law in South Africa.
Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 13, n. 8, aug. 2025.
ISSN 2375-1924.
Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/6644>. Date accessed: 05 dec. 2025.
doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v13i8.6644.
Section
Research Articles
The Medical Research Archives grants authors the right to publish and reproduce the unrevised contribution in whole or in part at any time and in any form for any scholarly non-commercial purpose with the condition that all publications of the contribution include a full citation to the journal as published by the Medical Research Archives.
References
1. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
2. The Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002.
3. See Peter J, “The supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law in theory and practice manual/directive) 2014 Forum 32-36.
4. Section 39.
5. Chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
6. See Swanepoel CF, “The “warm welcome by South Africa of the stealthy introduction of impunified disregard
7. for and violation of fundamental rights”:1 A legal-political commentary on the SADC Tribunal jurisprudence in
8. South Africa” 2020 Acta Academica 165-179.
9. For further reading see Meyersfeld B, “The South African Constitution and the human-rights obligations of juristic persons” 2020 The South African Law Journal https://journals.co.za/doi/epdf/10.10520/EJC-1fd9df0cf3 Date of access: 27 July 2025.
10. See Dube F, “Neither Adopted nor borrowed: A Critique of the conception of the South African Bill of Rights” 2020 PER/PELJ 23 1-27; Rafudeen A “A South African reflection on the nature of human rights” (2016) 16
11. African Human Rights Law Journal 225-246. For further reading see Nthai S “A Bill of Rights for South Africa:
12. An historical overview” 1998 Consultus 142-143.
13. The limitation clause is found in section 36 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
14. See De Ville J, “Interpretation of the general limitation clause in the chapter on fundamental rights” 1994 SA Publiekreg / Public Law 287-312.
15. Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002. For further reading see Ramlall S, “The Mental Health Care Act No 17 - South Africa. Trials and triumphs : 2002-2012 : review” 2012 African Journal of Psychiatry https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC127140 Date of access: 14 July 2025.
16. See Raphalalani S, (Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria) , Becker PJ, (Department of Research Office, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria), et al “The role of Mental Health Care Act status in dignity-related complaints by psychiatric inpatients: A cross-sectional analytical study” 2021 South African Journal of Psychiatry https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1602/2128 Date of Access: 28 July 2025.
17. Nyblade L, Stockton MA et al “Stigma in health facilities: Why it matters and how we can change it” 2019 https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-019-1256-2 Date of access: 27 July 2025.
18. Currie & De Waal The Bill of Rights handbook 2013 26 Cape Town, South Africa: Juta. The discrimination clause is found in section 9 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
19. For a discussion see Meyersfeld B “The South African Constitution and the human-rights obligations of juristic persons” 2020 https://journals.co.za/doi/10.10520/EJC-1fd9df0cf3 Date of access: 26 July 2025.
20. Hank AM, (ed) Handbook of Global Bioethics: Human Dignity and Human Rights 45-57.
21. Gobodo-Madikizela P, et al "Psychology and human rights" in Psychology and law ((eds) 344.
22. Radvinmehr H, (Member of the Center of Attorneys of the Iranian Judiciary, Doctoral Researcher in Public International Law, Independent Legal Scholar, The Netherlands) “The concept of human dignity as a cornerstone of human rights: Contemporary dimensions and challenges 2025 International Journal of Human Rights Law Review 858-867.
23. Carmichele v Minister of Safety and Security 2001 (4) SA 938 (CC).
24. Chaskalson A, “Human dignity as a foundational value of our Constitutional order” 2000 16 South African Journal on Human Rights 2 193 193-205.
25. S v Makwanyane and Another (CCT 3/94) [1995] ZACC 3 (6 June 1995).
26. Acevedo-Nuevo M, Velasco-Sanz T “Ethical and legal considerations and recommendations for action in the physical restraint use in critically ill patients” 2025 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S252998402500014X Date of Access: 22 June 2025.
27. Saks ER, 2002 Refusing care: Forces treatment and the rights of the mentally ill 123. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
28. Levenson JL, "Legal issues in the interface of medicine and psychiatry" 2007 Primary
29. Psychiatry http://www.primarypsychiatry.com/aspx/articledetail.aspx?articleid=117 (Date of
30. access: 22 May 2025)
31. Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002.
32. For further reading see Chieze M, Hurst S et al “Effects of seclusion and restraint in adult psychiatry: A systematic review” 2019 Frontiers in Psychiatry https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6673758/ Date of Access: 20 July 2025.
33. 125-126.
34. Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002.
35. A Mental Health Care User is defined in section 1 of the Mental Health Care Act as: "mental health care user" means a person receiving care, treatment and rehabilitation services or using a health service at a health establishment aimed at enhancing the mental health status of a user, State patient and mentally
36. ill prisoner and where the person concerned is below the age of 18 years or is incapable of taking decisions, and in certain circumstances may include-
37. prospective user;
38. the person's next of kin;
39. a person authorised by any other law or court order to act on that persons behalf;
40. an administrator appointed in terms of this Act; and
41. an executor of that deceased person's estate and "user" has a corresponding meaning;
42. South African Professional Conduct Guidelines in Psychology 2007. See also Ethical Rules of Conduct for Practitioners Registered under the Health Professions Act 56 of 1974.
43. For a discussion of this rights see Motlalekgosi P & Cilliers C “The right to freedom and security of the person : implications for the South African correctional system” 2020 https://journals.co.za/doi/10.10520/ejc-crim-v33-n1-a2 Date of access: 28 July 2025.
44. Section 12(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
45. Section 35 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
46. S v Nombewu; S v Mfene
47. Currie & De Waal The Bill of Rights Handbook 2013 740 Cape Town, South Africa: Juta.
48. Chapter 6 of the Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002.
49. See also Philips M / Wisenberg A brief analysis of the Constitutional requirement of the “best interest of the child” https://www.mpw.co.za/OurInsights/ArticleDetail.aspx?Title=A-brief-analysis-of-the-Constitutional-requirement-of-the-best-interest-of-the-child- date of access: 24 July 2025.
50. De Reuck v Director of Public Prosecutions Witwatersrand Local Division 2004 (1) SA.
51. Special gratitude is due to the Centre for Child Law, University of Pretoria, for their assistance in identifying these relevant issues.
52. Westman JC “Administrative issues in child and adult psychiatry training programs” 1978 8 Child Psychiatry and Human Development 195-203.
53. F Mukthar, W Regenold, S Lisanby Recent advances in electro convulsive therapy in clinical research and practice 2023 Faculty Reviews 12 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10259509/ Date of access 23 July 2025.
54. Kesey K, 2002 One flew over the cuckoo’s nest New York: Penguin Books
55. Lerato L, Masenya Y, Nel E “Knowledge and attitudes towards electroconvulsive therapy in an academic psychiatric department” 2024 30 South African Journal for Psychiatry 1.
56. Segal J, and Thom R, “Consent procedures and electroconvulsive therapy in South Africa: Impact of the Mental Health Care Act” 2006, 26 9 African Journal of Psychiatry 4 206-215.
57. Jorgensen ME, 2008 “Is today the day we free electroconvulsive therapy” http://works.bepress.com/mike_jorgensen/1 Date of access: 30 May 2025.
58. Rompel v Botha 1953 (T) unreported.
59. Mahdanian AA, Human rights in mental healthcare; A review of current global situation https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09540261.2022.2027348 Date of access: 21 July 2025.
60. Hunt P, & Mesquita J, “Mental disabilities and the human right to the highest attainable standard of health” 2006 28 Human Rights Quarterly 2 332-343.
61. Subsection 1(c).
62. Chapter V.
63. Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002.
64. Mahdanian AA, “Human rights in mental healthcare; A review of current global situation” https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09540261.2022.2027348 Date of access: 21 July 2025.
65. See Deane T, & Brijmohanlall R, “The Constitutional Court’s approach to equality” 2 Codicillus 90-100; Judge Kriegler in President of the Republic of South Africa v Hugo 1997 (6) BCLR 708 (CC) par 74.
66. See Tshoose CI, “The role and Impact of Constitutional values of ubuntu, equality and human dignity in the interpretation and protection of the right to have access to social security in South Africa” Journal for Juridical Science 48(2) 163-194.
67. See S v Makwanyane and Another (CCT3/94) [1995] ZACC 3; 1995 (6) BCLR 665; 1995 (3) SA 391; [1996] 2 CHRLD 164; 1995 (2) SACR 1 (6 June 1995).
68. Herring J, & Wall J, “The nature and significance of the right to bodily integrity” 2017 Cambridge University Press https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-law-journal/article/nature-and-significance-of-the-right-to-bodily-integrity/79703F3BE9C5C21BB76338C050E951BC Date of Access: 28 July 2025.
69. Mvikweni M, “Addressing healthcare access inequalities in South Africa: Evaluating legislative and human rights obligations and proposing strategies for improvement” 2024 https://noyam.org/ehass202451655/ Date of Access: 27 July 2025.
2. The Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002.
3. See Peter J, “The supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law in theory and practice manual/directive) 2014 Forum 32-36.
4. Section 39.
5. Chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
6. See Swanepoel CF, “The “warm welcome by South Africa of the stealthy introduction of impunified disregard
7. for and violation of fundamental rights”:1 A legal-political commentary on the SADC Tribunal jurisprudence in
8. South Africa” 2020 Acta Academica 165-179.
9. For further reading see Meyersfeld B, “The South African Constitution and the human-rights obligations of juristic persons” 2020 The South African Law Journal https://journals.co.za/doi/epdf/10.10520/EJC-1fd9df0cf3 Date of access: 27 July 2025.
10. See Dube F, “Neither Adopted nor borrowed: A Critique of the conception of the South African Bill of Rights” 2020 PER/PELJ 23 1-27; Rafudeen A “A South African reflection on the nature of human rights” (2016) 16
11. African Human Rights Law Journal 225-246. For further reading see Nthai S “A Bill of Rights for South Africa:
12. An historical overview” 1998 Consultus 142-143.
13. The limitation clause is found in section 36 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
14. See De Ville J, “Interpretation of the general limitation clause in the chapter on fundamental rights” 1994 SA Publiekreg / Public Law 287-312.
15. Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002. For further reading see Ramlall S, “The Mental Health Care Act No 17 - South Africa. Trials and triumphs : 2002-2012 : review” 2012 African Journal of Psychiatry https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC127140 Date of access: 14 July 2025.
16. See Raphalalani S, (Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria) , Becker PJ, (Department of Research Office, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria), et al “The role of Mental Health Care Act status in dignity-related complaints by psychiatric inpatients: A cross-sectional analytical study” 2021 South African Journal of Psychiatry https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1602/2128 Date of Access: 28 July 2025.
17. Nyblade L, Stockton MA et al “Stigma in health facilities: Why it matters and how we can change it” 2019 https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-019-1256-2 Date of access: 27 July 2025.
18. Currie & De Waal The Bill of Rights handbook 2013 26 Cape Town, South Africa: Juta. The discrimination clause is found in section 9 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
19. For a discussion see Meyersfeld B “The South African Constitution and the human-rights obligations of juristic persons” 2020 https://journals.co.za/doi/10.10520/EJC-1fd9df0cf3 Date of access: 26 July 2025.
20. Hank AM, (ed) Handbook of Global Bioethics: Human Dignity and Human Rights 45-57.
21. Gobodo-Madikizela P, et al "Psychology and human rights" in Psychology and law ((eds) 344.
22. Radvinmehr H, (Member of the Center of Attorneys of the Iranian Judiciary, Doctoral Researcher in Public International Law, Independent Legal Scholar, The Netherlands) “The concept of human dignity as a cornerstone of human rights: Contemporary dimensions and challenges 2025 International Journal of Human Rights Law Review 858-867.
23. Carmichele v Minister of Safety and Security 2001 (4) SA 938 (CC).
24. Chaskalson A, “Human dignity as a foundational value of our Constitutional order” 2000 16 South African Journal on Human Rights 2 193 193-205.
25. S v Makwanyane and Another (CCT 3/94) [1995] ZACC 3 (6 June 1995).
26. Acevedo-Nuevo M, Velasco-Sanz T “Ethical and legal considerations and recommendations for action in the physical restraint use in critically ill patients” 2025 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S252998402500014X Date of Access: 22 June 2025.
27. Saks ER, 2002 Refusing care: Forces treatment and the rights of the mentally ill 123. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
28. Levenson JL, "Legal issues in the interface of medicine and psychiatry" 2007 Primary
29. Psychiatry http://www.primarypsychiatry.com/aspx/articledetail.aspx?articleid=117 (Date of
30. access: 22 May 2025)
31. Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002.
32. For further reading see Chieze M, Hurst S et al “Effects of seclusion and restraint in adult psychiatry: A systematic review” 2019 Frontiers in Psychiatry https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6673758/ Date of Access: 20 July 2025.
33. 125-126.
34. Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002.
35. A Mental Health Care User is defined in section 1 of the Mental Health Care Act as: "mental health care user" means a person receiving care, treatment and rehabilitation services or using a health service at a health establishment aimed at enhancing the mental health status of a user, State patient and mentally
36. ill prisoner and where the person concerned is below the age of 18 years or is incapable of taking decisions, and in certain circumstances may include-
37. prospective user;
38. the person's next of kin;
39. a person authorised by any other law or court order to act on that persons behalf;
40. an administrator appointed in terms of this Act; and
41. an executor of that deceased person's estate and "user" has a corresponding meaning;
42. South African Professional Conduct Guidelines in Psychology 2007. See also Ethical Rules of Conduct for Practitioners Registered under the Health Professions Act 56 of 1974.
43. For a discussion of this rights see Motlalekgosi P & Cilliers C “The right to freedom and security of the person : implications for the South African correctional system” 2020 https://journals.co.za/doi/10.10520/ejc-crim-v33-n1-a2 Date of access: 28 July 2025.
44. Section 12(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
45. Section 35 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
46. S v Nombewu; S v Mfene
47. Currie & De Waal The Bill of Rights Handbook 2013 740 Cape Town, South Africa: Juta.
48. Chapter 6 of the Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002.
49. See also Philips M / Wisenberg A brief analysis of the Constitutional requirement of the “best interest of the child” https://www.mpw.co.za/OurInsights/ArticleDetail.aspx?Title=A-brief-analysis-of-the-Constitutional-requirement-of-the-best-interest-of-the-child- date of access: 24 July 2025.
50. De Reuck v Director of Public Prosecutions Witwatersrand Local Division 2004 (1) SA.
51. Special gratitude is due to the Centre for Child Law, University of Pretoria, for their assistance in identifying these relevant issues.
52. Westman JC “Administrative issues in child and adult psychiatry training programs” 1978 8 Child Psychiatry and Human Development 195-203.
53. F Mukthar, W Regenold, S Lisanby Recent advances in electro convulsive therapy in clinical research and practice 2023 Faculty Reviews 12 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10259509/ Date of access 23 July 2025.
54. Kesey K, 2002 One flew over the cuckoo’s nest New York: Penguin Books
55. Lerato L, Masenya Y, Nel E “Knowledge and attitudes towards electroconvulsive therapy in an academic psychiatric department” 2024 30 South African Journal for Psychiatry 1.
56. Segal J, and Thom R, “Consent procedures and electroconvulsive therapy in South Africa: Impact of the Mental Health Care Act” 2006, 26 9 African Journal of Psychiatry 4 206-215.
57. Jorgensen ME, 2008 “Is today the day we free electroconvulsive therapy” http://works.bepress.com/mike_jorgensen/1 Date of access: 30 May 2025.
58. Rompel v Botha 1953 (T) unreported.
59. Mahdanian AA, Human rights in mental healthcare; A review of current global situation https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09540261.2022.2027348 Date of access: 21 July 2025.
60. Hunt P, & Mesquita J, “Mental disabilities and the human right to the highest attainable standard of health” 2006 28 Human Rights Quarterly 2 332-343.
61. Subsection 1(c).
62. Chapter V.
63. Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002.
64. Mahdanian AA, “Human rights in mental healthcare; A review of current global situation” https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09540261.2022.2027348 Date of access: 21 July 2025.
65. See Deane T, & Brijmohanlall R, “The Constitutional Court’s approach to equality” 2 Codicillus 90-100; Judge Kriegler in President of the Republic of South Africa v Hugo 1997 (6) BCLR 708 (CC) par 74.
66. See Tshoose CI, “The role and Impact of Constitutional values of ubuntu, equality and human dignity in the interpretation and protection of the right to have access to social security in South Africa” Journal for Juridical Science 48(2) 163-194.
67. See S v Makwanyane and Another (CCT3/94) [1995] ZACC 3; 1995 (6) BCLR 665; 1995 (3) SA 391; [1996] 2 CHRLD 164; 1995 (2) SACR 1 (6 June 1995).
68. Herring J, & Wall J, “The nature and significance of the right to bodily integrity” 2017 Cambridge University Press https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-law-journal/article/nature-and-significance-of-the-right-to-bodily-integrity/79703F3BE9C5C21BB76338C050E951BC Date of Access: 28 July 2025.
69. Mvikweni M, “Addressing healthcare access inequalities in South Africa: Evaluating legislative and human rights obligations and proposing strategies for improvement” 2024 https://noyam.org/ehass202451655/ Date of Access: 27 July 2025.