In Georgia, it will no longer be possible to keep patients in compulsory psychiatric care for years without regular examination - Parliament changed the law! Georgia's parliament quickly adopted new rules for compulsory psychiatric treatment. Now the need to continue such treatment will be regularly reviewed by the doctors and the court. What changed? Every two months there is a medical examination. A special committee of a psychiatric institution must assess whether grounds remain for forced treatment. Every six months - judicial control. The hospital is obligated to send the committee's conclusion and the necessary documents to the court. The court will re-examine whether the patient really needs to continue treatment. Decisions can be appealed. Patients will have the opportunity to administratively appeal the medical board's decisions. No need to wait for the next test. If the attending physician believes that the patient has recovered before the prescribed period, he can at any time contact the Commission with a question regarding the termination of forced treatment. Why were changes needed? On April 29, 2026, the Constitutional Court of Georgia upheld the Public Defender's claim and declared unconstitutional the norms that do not sufficiently protect patients from unreasonable extension of compulsory psychiatric treatment. Previously, such a measure could be imposed in criminal proceedings by a court for a period of up to four years without the usual judicial review now established. There is one more change. In psychiatric treatment in forced hospitalization, the time period between mandatory examinations by a medical board was increased from one month to two months. The Public Defender of Georgia welcomed the additional mechanisms of judicial control, but stressed that when implementing the new rules, it is necessary to ensure a timely assessment of the patients' condition and protection of their rights.

In Georgia, it will no longer be possible to keep patients in compulsory psychiatric care for years without regular examination - Parliament changed the law! Georgia's parliament quickly adopted new rules for compulsory psychiatric treatment. Now the need to continue such treatment will be regularly reviewed by the doctors and the court. What changed? Every two months there is a medical examination. A special committee of a psychiatric institution must assess whether grounds remain for forced treatment. Every six months - judicial control. The hospital is obligated to send the committee's conclusion and the necessary documents to the court. The court will re-examine whether the patient really needs to continue treatment. Decisions can be appealed. Patients will have the opportunity to administratively appeal the medical board's decisions. No need to wait for the next test. If the attending physician believes that the patient has recovered before the prescribed period, he can at any time contact the Commission with a question regarding the termination of forced treatment. Why were changes needed? On April 29, 2026, the Constitutional Court of Georgia upheld the Public Defender's claim and declared unconstitutional the norms that do not sufficiently protect patients from unreasonable extension of compulsory psychiatric treatment. Previously, such a measure could be imposed in criminal proceedings by a court for a period of up to four years without the usual judicial review now established. There is one more change. In psychiatric treatment in forced hospitalization, the time period between mandatory examinations by a medical board was increased from one month to two months. The Public Defender of Georgia welcomed the additional mechanisms of judicial control, but stressed that when implementing the new rules, it is necessary to ensure a timely assessment of the patients' condition and protection of their rights.