Unsound Mind - Law Dictionary Search Results
Home Dictionary Name: unsound mindPerson of unsound mind
Person of unsound mind, a term by which in a more enlightened age persons afflicted with a mental illness affecting their reason are to be known, as distinguished from Idiots, Imbeciles, Feeble-minded Persons and Moral Defectives under the Mental Deficiency Act, 1927 (17 & 18Geo. 5, c. 33) (see those titles, and LUNATICS).The statute law affecting persons of unsound mind in contained in the (English) Lunacy and Mental Treatment Acts, 1890 to 1930, of which the principal are the (English) Lunacy Acts, 1890 (53 & 54 Vict. c. 5), 1891 (54 & 55 Vict., c. 56), and as regards Boards of Control, the Mental Deficiency Acts, 1913 to 1927 and the Mental Treatment Rules, 1930 (S.R. & O., 1930 No. 1083). A classification of patients has been made as follows: (a) Voluntary (see the (English) Act of 1930, s. 1; (b) Temporary (ibid., s. 5 (1); (c) Certified [(English) Lunacy Act, 1890, s. 4]; (d) Found to be of unsound mind upon inquisition (see that title), and a further classification is into a pri...
Committee of a Person of Unsound Mind or Idiot
Committee of a Person of Unsound Mind or Idiot, the person to whom the care and custody of the person and estate, or either, of a person of unsound mind is committed by the Court. Separate committees may be appointed (a) of the person, (b) of the estate, and joint committees may be appointed for either or both of these purposes. See (English) Lunacy Act, 1890 (53 & 54 Vict. c. 5), s. 120. A committee can only be appointed after a formal inquisition. In practice, receivers are generally appointed under the (English) Lunacy Acts, 1890 (53 Vict. c. 5), s. 116; 1908 (8 Edw. 7, c. 47), s. 1, and 1922 (12 & 13 Geo. 5, c. 60)....
Unsound mind
Unsound mind. See PERSON OF UNSOUND MIND....
Lunatic
Lunatic. By the (English) Mental Treatment Act, 1930 (20 & 21 Geo. 5, c. 23), s. 20, the word 'lunatic,' except in the phrase 'criminal lunatic' and in relation to persons detained as lunatics outside England, shall cease to be used in relation to any person of or alleged to be of unsound mind, and the words ''person of unsound mind,' 'person,' 'patient of unsound mind,' or 'of unsound mind,' or such other expression as the context may require are to be substituted in any enactment or document thereunder. See PERSON OF UNSOUND MIND. Mental Treatment Act, 1930 (20 & 21 Geo. 5, c. 23).The general principle governing contracts entered into by insane persons is laid down in The Imperial Loan Co. v. Stone, (1892) 1 QB 559. 'Where a person enters into a contract, and afterwards alleges that he was so insane at the time that he did not know what he was doing and proves the allegation, the contract is as binding on him in every respect, whether it is executory or executed, as if he had been sa...
Inquisition
Inquisition, inquiry, inquest; the finding of a tribunal charged to inquire. The three best known inquisitions are:-1. A coroner's inquisition, which is [see (English) Coroners Act,1887, s. 4, sub-s. 3] a certificate of the verdict of the jury, 'setting forth, so far as such particulars have been proved to them, who the deceased was, and how, when, and where the deceased came by his death; and if he came by his death by murder or manslaughter, the persons, if any, whom the jury find to have been guilty of such murder or manslaughter, or of being accessories before the fact to such murder.' The inquisition must be signed by the jurors. A form is given in the Third Schedule of the (English) Coroners Rules, 1927 (S.R. & O. 1927, No. 344/L. 13). See also CORONER.2. Inquisition as to lunacy, which is an inquiry directed by the judge in lunacy, as to whether a person is of unsound mind and incapable of managing his affairs. It is held before a jury, if the person alleged to be of unsound min...
Visitor
Visitor, an inspector of, incidental to and necessary for all elemosynary, many ecclesiastical and other corporations, endowed and other colleges, schools, hospitals and institutions; also of a college, corporation or hospital [see (Halsb. L.E. (Hailsham Edn.), vol. iv., tit. 'Charities'; and Cathedrals Measure, 1931 (21 & 22 Geo. 5, No. 7)] The Court of Chancery has exercised the right of visitation on behalf of the Crown, in whom the right (see 25 Hen. 8, c. 21 and 1 Eliz. c. 1, s. 2) of visitation and inspection lies, in default of special visitors. Under the (English) Lunacy Act, 1890, Parts VI. and VII., ss. 163 to 206, Chancery visitors of persons of unsound mind, so found by inquisition, appointed by the Lord Chancellor visiting committees under the regulations of a mental hospital, visitors appointed by justices, and visiting commissioners have special powers and duties to inspect persons, treatment documents and places in connection with persons of unsound mind. See also IDIOT...
Kidnapping from lawful guardianship
Kidnapping from lawful guardianship, Whoever takes or entices any minor under sixteen years of age if a male, or under eighteen years of age if a female, or any person of unsound mind, out of the keeping of the lawful guardian of such minor or person of unsound mind, without the consent of such guardian, is said to kidnap such minor or person from lawful guardianship. (Indian Penal Code, s. 361)...
Pauper lunatic
Pauper lunatic, a discarded term, replaced by 'rate-aided patient of unsound mind' (Mental Treatment Act, 1930 (20 & 21 Geo. 5, c. 23)), s. 3. See PERSONS OF UNSOUND MIND....
Reception order
Reception order. No person, not being a a rate-aided poor person or a person of unsound mind so found by inquisition, can be received or detained as a per-son of unsound mind except under the authority of (1) a reception order, or (2) an urgency order (q.v.), or (3) a summary reception order (q.v.) [(English) Lunacy Act, 1890, ss. 1, 9, 13]. Ss. 21 and 22 provide exceptions in the case of emergency, etc., and of friends and relatives taking charge. A reception order can only be made by a judicial authority, i.e., a justice of the peace specially appointed, a county court judge, a stipendiary magistrate, or by two commissioners in lunacy (ibid., ss. 1, 9, 10 and 23). It is only effective for one year unless extended [(English) Lunacy Act, 1891, s. 7), and by s. 36 (3) of the Act, 1890, it ceases to be of any force unless the patient has been received thereunder before the expiration of seven days from its date. As to the reception of feebleminded and mentally defective persons, see the ...
De lunatico inquirendo, writ
De lunatico inquirendo, writ, a process formerly issued to inquire into the condition of a person's mind. Those judges [see (English) Jud. Act, 1873, s. 17; Jud. Act, 1875, s. 7] to whom, by special authority from the sovereign, the custody of idiots and lunatics is entrusted may, upon petition or information, grant a commission in the nature of a writ de lunatico inquirendo (which is analogous to the obsolete de idiota inquirendo), to inquire into the party's state of mind. If the party be found non compos, the care of his person, with a suitable allowance for his maintenance, is usually committed to one of his relations or friends, then called his committee.The proceedings are by way of petition to the Judge in Lunacy under s. 90 of the (English) Lunacy Act, 1890, who either may direct an inquisition with or without a jury, or that an issue be tried before a judge of the High Court or refer the matter to the Master in Lunacy with a view to the appointment of a receiver. Applications ...
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