The New Actor of Involuntary Hospitalisation in France: The Juge des Libertés et de la Détention (Judge of Freedoms and Detention)

The practice of involuntary hospitalisation in which the patient is unable to give consent frequently occurs in France and has been legal since 1838. However, two reforms took place in 1990 and 2011. The latter introduced the systematic intervention of the judge of freedoms and detention. This new central actor in psychiatric care under duress was not without disruption to the daily practice of nursing. We propose to describe the theoretical and practical aspects of this new legislation.