With assistance of the LAS Tbilisi Legal Aid Bureau lawyer, Tea Kaulashvili, the citizen M.Kh. who had unfairly spent one month at the psychiatric hospital, was released from the facility on the basis of the decision of the Appellate Court.
M.Kh. found herself at the hospital as a result of the conflict she had with the neighbors. The dispute regarding the apartment and the garage had grown into severe conflict and M.Kh. had to call the police to protect herself. However, the same policemen took her to the psychiatric facility. In accordance with the decision of the Tbilisi City Court she was transferred to the psychiatric hospital in order to undergo compulsory psychiatric treatment.
The public lawyer, Tea Kaulashvili, did not agree on the fact of M.Kh.’s placement at the hospital from the start. So she appealed the decision of the City Court to the court of the higher instance.
In her lawsuit, the lawyer underlined that the City Court decision was relevant neither with the facts of the case nor with the aims of the Law of Georgia on Psychiatric Care. According to Tea Kaulashvili, M.Kh. should have been placed at the hospital only if the patient was not conscious about making the decision; if the delay in providing the assistance created threat to the life or health of the patient; if the patient herself could suffer or inflict material loss to the other person. In the given case, there was not any condition to place M.Kh. at the hospital. Besides, the brother of M.Kh. gave explanation that the conflict between his sister and her neighbors had lasted for a long time and he had doubt that this was a revenge of the neighbors. It is worth to mention that the patient was ready to take treatment at home is needed. This would be relevant to her diagnosis too.
Finally, the Court of Appeal shared the position of the lawyer Tea Kaulashvili and made decision on the release of M.Kh. from the psychiatric hospital. M.Kh. was also informed that because of the compulsory treatment, she had a right to receive compensation for that harm.