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Abstract
The case of M’Naghten (1843) laid out the insanity defence test for the British legal system. Later, many countries basing their criminal legislation on the British common law system, including the Criminal Act of Kuwait, adopted the test. The Act forms the basis for forensic psychiatric assessments. Several countries amended their criminal laws to provide a better balance between public safety and human rights protection. However, the Criminal Act of Kuwait remains unchanged for offenders with mental illness since its enactment in the early 1960s, with several gaps concerning the detention mechanisms and the discharge of such offenders. However the Kuwait Mental Health Law (Citation2019) eventually filled these gaps. This paper describes the function of forensic mental health services in Kuwait, discusses and compares the Criminal Act of Kuwait with other nations’ criminal laws and describes the forensic section of the Kuwait Mental Health Law (Citation2019).
Ethical standards
The first two authors were the psychiatrists representing the Ministry of Health of Kuwait during the Kuwait Mental Health Law write-up working with the parliament of Kuwait.
Declaration of conflicts of interest
Abdulmohsen Al-Humoud has declared no conflicts of interest.
Adel Al-Zayed has declared no conflicts of interest.
Faisal Al-Hasan has declared no conflicts of interest.
Ethical approval
This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.