Cotler introduces reforms of law on persons not criminally responsible.

OTTAWA -- Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Irwin Cotler introduced new legislation to reform laws and procedures that govern people who are found unfit to stand trial or not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder.

Currently, a person found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder is neither convicted nor acquitted and, as a result, is not sentenced. Instead, a court or Review Board determines the appropriate disposition--an absolute discharge, a discharge with conditions or detention in hospital, based on several criteria set out in the Criminal Code. The Review Board monitors and reviews the disposition, making any necessary changes, until such time as the accused is absolutely discharged.

The proposed amendments include expanding the powers of review boards to make decisions about the detention, supervision or release of persons found unfit to stand trial or not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder. They include:

* expanding the options available to police to improve the enforcement of orders made by the court or Review Board;

* streamlining provisions governing the transfer of the accused person, and

* addressing the situation of an accused person who may never be able to be tried.

These reforms were outlined in the Government of Canada's November 2002 response to the report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights (Review of the Mental Disorder Provisions of the Criminal Code). The amend, merits respond to the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Demers, which called for provisions to address the permanently unfit accused who does not pose a significant threat to public safety.

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