There are many deadlocks and difficulties in the constitution of the mental health act, because from the beginning, both the human rights of the psychiatric patients, as well as the protection of civilians from the risk of the unpredictable and
impulsive behavior of such patients had to be considered. However, although the importance of the mental health act may be recognized for the fact that both the above mentioned factors are compulsory in the improvement of the mental health of a
nation
by directly affecting the prevention of psychiatric illness, the treatment of psychiatric patient and their rehabilitation for readjustment to society, it has caused worry among some people that a person not suffering from a mental illness may
be
regarded as a psychiatric patient by the enactment of the mental health act. Therefore, it must be stressed that the mental health act is not merely the making of a concentration camp but the representation of the human rights of the psychiatric
patients, and the right for such patients to receive appropriate treatment in order to return to society. In Korea too, the public concern has lead to hearings on the mental health act promoted by the Korea neuropsychiatric association on
April
29th, 1992 and 3rd June, 1992. At present, the necessity of the mental health act has become well perceived by the people and concerns have already centered on such topics as "The method of constitution of mental health act", "The
problems
of
the legislation of the mental health act and their counterproposals' and "The reconstitution of the legislation of the mental health act". In a bid to promote the understanding of the mental health act, the authors would like to consider
in
this article 1)The consitution of the mental health act, 2) A comparison of the constitution of the law in England, the United States, Japan and Taiwan, 3) A comparison of the Korean mental health act and that of the above nations, 4)The
problems of
the aspects of the human rights in the mental health act.
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