Guide last updated by Balqees Khan, September 2025.
This guide was created by Katherine Read, Principal Library Assistant at the IALS Library.
Email katherine.read@sas.ac.uk
We'd love to hear your comments about this Research Guide.
Email ials@sas.ac.uk
This guide aims to give a brief introduction to the Library's holdings on Mental Health and Mental Capacity Law. Please consult Library Search for complete information on current titles and locations. If you require further assistance please contact us.
Monday-Friday 9:30-17:00
Tel (0)20 7862 5790
Email ials@sas.ac.uk
This Subject Guide only lists a selection of Library resources on Mental Health Law. To find additional resources you will need to use Library Search, which covers the complete holdings of the Library. It is possible to search for books, journals and series of law reports by author, title or keyword.
IALS Library is mainly open access and readers are able to browse the shelves in the main collection. There are two main exceptions to this:
Please request these at the Library Enquiry Desk.
For more information on understanding the catalogue record and further guidance on the location of materials please refer to our guide Classmarks and the Location of Resources in the Library.
The Library classifies textbooks either by jurisdiction (GO13, GA2 etc.) or according to subject area, examples of which include Comparative Law (SB), Public International Law (SG) and Private International Law/ Conflict of Laws (SH). All classmark sections have a FOL section for oversize volumes, which is located on the same floor of the Library.
When using Library Search for books, please note that only the current edition is held on the open shelves or in the Short Loan collection. IALS has a rich collection of previous editions held in the closed basement and these will display a Depository number on the catalogue. Please request previous editions from the Library Enquiry Desk.
Common Law material on mental health law is shelved at SJ425
Criminal Law material relating to mental health law is shelved at SJ150 or GA2.D.4
The following list represents a selection of textbooks on mental health law. Please follow the links to Library Search for further information and location. Titles are available in both print and electronic formats, unless indicated otherwise on the list .
Ashton, G (ed). Court of Protection practice 2022. 1st ed. 2022 LexisNexis (print only)
Ashton, G., & Marin, M (eds). Mental capacity: law and practice. 4th ed. 2018 LexisNexis (print only)
Bach, M., & Espejo-Yaksic, N (eds). Legal capacity, disability and human rights. 1st ed. 2023 Cambridge
Bartlett, P., & Sandland, R. Mental health law: policy and practice. 4th ed. 2013 OUP (print only)
Donnelly, M., et al. Supporting legal capacity in socio-legal context. 1st ed. 2022 Hart (online only)
Donnelly, M., & Kelly, B (eds). Routledge handbook of mental health law. 1st ed. 2024 Routledge (online only)
Gill, N., & Sartorius, N. (eds). Mental health and human rights: the challenges of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to Mental Health Care. 2024 Springer (print only)
Gostin, L. Principles of mental health law and policy. 1st ed. 2010 OUP (print only)
Hale, B., et al. Mental health law. 6th ed. 2017 Sweet & Maxwell (print only)
Herring, J. Vulnerable adults and the law. 1st ed. 2016 OUP (online only)
Jacob, R., et al (eds). Mental capacity legislation: principles and practice. 2nd ed. 2019 CUP (online only)
Jones, R., & Piffareti, E. Mental Capacity Act manual. 8th ed. 2018 Sweet & Maxwell (print only)
Jones, R. Mental Health Act manual. 27th ed. 2024 Sweet & Maxwell (print only)
Kelly, B. Dignity, mental health, and human rights: coercion and the law. 2015 Ashgate (print only)
Kong, C., et al (eds). Capacity, participation and values in comparative legal perspective. 1st ed. 2023 Bristol University Press (online only)
Nilsson, A. Compulsory mental health interventions and the CRPD: minding equality. 2021 Hart (print only)
Peay, J. Seminal issues in mental health law. 2005 Ashgate (print only)
Stein, M., et al (eds). Mental health, legal capacity and human rights. 1st ed. 2021 CUP (online only)
Wilson, K. Mental health law: abolish or reform? 1st ed. 2021 OUP (online only)
IALS Library holds a wide selection of current serial titles about criminal law from many different jurisdictions. These are located on all floors of the Library. Titles are available in both print and electronic formats, unless indicated otherwise on the list below. For more detailed help, please refer to the guide on Finding journal articles. The following titles include articles on mental health law.
European human rights law review
International Journal of Human Rights
Psychiatry, psychology and law (online only)
Psychology, public policy, and law (online only)
If you are interested in legislation or cases concerning mental health issues in specific countries you will need to consult the legislation or law reports for that jurisdiction.
Consult Library Search to find the general classmark for the country you require. Consult consolidations of legislation, digests or indexes to trace particular acts or cases.
Academic users may also use databases like Lexis/Westlaw to find UK, US, EU or international decisions. For further information please refer to Law Databases or ask at the Library Enquiry Desk.
You may also find it useful to refer to our guides on finding Legislation and Cases or check to see if we have a Jurisdiction Research Guide for the country you are interested in.
Eagle-i is an internet portal maintained and updated by IALS library staff. It allows you to search for quality web resources on mental health law.
A valuable free source is BAILII, the British and Irish Legal information Institute which is based and maintained at IALS. It provides free access to full text UK judgments and legislation on a wide range of subjects including mental health law and also links to other free World Law databases. Jurisdictions covered in these resources include Commonwealth countries e.g. AustLII (Australia) and CanLII (Canada), France, Germany, Italy, the USA and South Africa.
The following represent a sample of the available quality individual web resources on mental health law:
Disability Discrimination Laws Country Index A US based resource set up in January 2025 of links to disability laws arranged by jurisdiction.
Mental Health Lawyers Association
Mental Health Law Online. Provides full text access to legislation and cases for health practitioners