human rights and legislation who resource book on mental health

mental health facts <strong>and</strong> best practices, <strong>and</strong> to ask their opinion about policy <strong>and</strong> legislative
initiatives. Lobbying is essential during the entire process of <strong>legislation</strong> – <strong>and</strong> particularly in the
adoption phase – to ensure that the proposed law is sent to the legislature <strong>and</strong> that it moves
forward through the different stages of analysis, discussion <strong>and</strong> promulgation.
Adopting mental health <strong>legislation</strong>: Key issues
• Parliament or a sovereign law-making body has final responsibility for passing <strong>legislation</strong>.
• In some countries, mental health laws are a “state” or “provincial” responsibility, while in
others there is a national mental health law. State laws must always follow the
principles of the national <strong>legislation</strong> where both apply.
• In some countries, laws may be promulgated by an administrative ordinance, <strong>and</strong> this
would need to be ratified later by the parliament or law-making body.
• Many legislatures have subcommittees that debate <strong>legislation</strong> <strong>and</strong> receive public input
before a bill is submitted to a full sitting of the legislature.
• During debate on a law, amendments can be proposed <strong>and</strong> adopted. To do this effectively,
lawmakers must be fully briefed <strong>and</strong> informed of all implications of any changes.
• Once a law is passed by the legislature other steps are required such as: sanction (head of
State signs the text); promulgation (official announcement of the adopted law); <strong>and</strong>
publication (printed in the text of the government’s official legal statutes).
• During the adoption of <strong>legislation</strong> it is important to mobilize public opinion <strong>and</strong> the media
for the purposes of both advocacy for the passing of the bill <strong>and</strong> to inform the public on the
issues, changes <strong>and</strong> opportunities afforded by the <strong>legislation</strong>.
• Members of the executive <strong>and</strong> the legislature should be lobbied at all stages of the legislative
process, <strong>and</strong> particularly at the adoption stage, to ensure that the <strong>legislation</strong>, with its full
potential to improve people’s lives, is actually passed.
5. Implementing mental health <strong>legislation</strong>
The process leading up to implementation ideally starts from the point of conception of mental
health <strong>legislation</strong>. Many implementation difficulties can be identified, <strong>and</strong> corrective action taken,
during the drafting <strong>and</strong> consultation phase of the proposed <strong>legislation</strong>. The complexity of
modern mental health <strong>legislation</strong> adds to difficulties in its practical application. Often much
attention can be paid to the drafting <strong>and</strong> legislative process, while little preparatory work is done
with regard to implementation until after the <strong>legislation</strong> has been enacted.
The experience of many countries shows that “law in <strong>book</strong>s” <strong>and</strong> “law in practice” sometimes
are rather different. Implementation problems tend to occur not only in countries without a
tradition of mental health law, but also in countries with a history of such law.
Once <strong>legislation</strong> has been passed through the legislative process, there is usually a short period
before enactment of the <strong>legislation</strong>. This is a critical time, as it allows for procedures to be put in
place, review bodies to be set up, training to take place, <strong>and</strong> to make sure that all those involved are
ready to implement the <strong>legislation</strong> once it is enacted. In countries which have regulations attached
to <strong>legislation</strong>, these regulations must also be finalized <strong>and</strong> signed before the <strong>legislation</strong> is enacted.
In some countries a decision may be made after the adoption of the law, to allow a period before
enforcement, which gives the authorities time to put in place the necessary infrastructure to
implement the law.
5.1 Importance <strong>and</strong> role of bodies responsible for implementation
As with the drafting of <strong>legislation</strong>, responsibility for overseeing implementation can take
numerous forms. Moreover, different functions of the <strong>legislation</strong> may be undertaken <strong>and</strong>
monitored by different groups. For example, if (as recommended in Chapter 2) a regulation <strong>and</strong>
oversight body has been established, it is likely to be compelled, through its given functions, to
106