In 2008 the Law Commission identified that the law relating to the defences of insanity and automatism was ‘highly suitable’ for a review. These two defences are raised when defendants claim involuntary behaviour in relation to a crime alleged against them. In July 2012 the Law Commission produced a scoping paper. Its purpose was to discover to what extent (scope) these laws ‘are working, if at all’.
The Law Commission identified that many interested parties had been petitioning for reform in this area ever since it was conceived. Current guidelines on the defence of insanity are founded firmly in the nineteenth century. Since then the medical definition of insanity has changed completely. Despite various recommendations for reform, little progress has been made. The defence of insanity’s legal definition has little medical credibility. This is not insanity’s only problem, as the Law Commission revealed.
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