MHA 1983 § 47
Definition
UK Mental Health Act 1983 provision allowing the Secretary of State for Justice to transfer a sentenced prisoner to a psychiatric hospital when the prisoner is suffering from a mental disorder of a nature or degree making hospital treatment appropriate and available.
- Jurisdiction
- UK, Mental Health Act 1983
- Applies to
- Sentenced prisoners
- Effect
- Transfer to psychiatric hospital
- Authority
- Secretary of State for Justice
Common questions
What must be shown before a Section 47 transfer can be authorised?+
The prisoner must be suffering from a mental disorder of a nature or degree that makes hospital treatment appropriate, and appropriate hospital treatment must actually be available, so both a clinical threshold and practical availability are required before the transfer can proceed.
How does a Section 47 transfer differ from being sectioned directly from the community?+
Section 47 applies specifically to someone already serving a custodial sentence, moving them from prison to hospital while their sentence continues, rather than a fresh civil detention. This distinguishes it procedurally from Mental Health Act sections used on people not already in the criminal justice system.
Related terms
- ACCT Process
- Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork; the England and Wales Prison and Probation Service framework for identifying and managing prisoners at risk...
- BNSS 2023 § 367
- Provision of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 that governs proceedings when the accused appears to be of unsound mind and incapable...
- Estelle V. Gamble (1976)
- US Supreme Court decision holding that deliberate indifference to a prisoner's serious medical need constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth...
- Mandela Rules
- United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, adopted by the General Assembly in 2015; Rules 24-35 address health care...
- Mental Healthcare Act 2017 § 103
- Provision of India's Mental Healthcare Act 2017 establishing the rights of persons with mental illness who are in prison or other detention...
- MHA 1983 § 48
- UK Mental Health Act 1983 provision equivalent to § 47 but applying to unsentenced (remand) prisoners; case law requires more prompt decision-making...
- Sell V. United States (2003)
- US Supreme Court case establishing the four-part test for when a court may authorise involuntary medication of a defendant for the purpose...