Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992, s 84

If you are in hospital under an inpatient compulsory treatment order (see: “Compulsory Treatment Orders”), anybody can apply to the High Court for a judicial inquiry. This is an inquiry into whether it is legal to keep you in hospital for treatment or whether you are fit to be discharged.

If somebody applies for an inquiry, a judge can arrange for a district inspector to investigate and report back to them your case. The judge has to order your release if they decide based on the investigation that you:

• are being held illegally, or
• are fit to be discharged from hospital.

Habeas Corpus Act 2001, s 6 Case: [2010] NZCA 632

You also have a separate right to apply to a High Court judge for what’s called a “writ of habeas corpus”.  This legal action requires that the officials holding you (for example, in hospital) prove it is legal for them to do so. However, it is very rarely used as there are other processes for challenging mental health assessments under the Mental Health Act like the Review Tribunal.

It is also unlikely that your application will be granted if your main argument is that you don’t believe you have a “mental disorder”. This is because of the other available options for challenging a mental health assessment like the one’s explained earlier in this section.