LEGAL-ASPECTS, CURRENT SITUATION, TREATME NT CONCEPTS AND OUTLOOK

According to German law, delinquents who are considered either not ful ly responsible or not responsible at all for their actions because of a mental disorder receive no punishment or a lesser degree of punishme nt in criminal trials. They may, however, be sentenced to psychiatric treatment either in a psychiatric hospital or in an addiction centre, if the risk of them committing such offences in the future is consider ed to be high. This article reviews the current situation regarding th e treatment of mentally ill offenders in hospitals and explores possib le developments in forensic psychiatry. It outlines the legal framewor k, and the current and developing treatment strategies, and finally ra ises the question of whether these developments will lead to further s pecialization of forensic psychiatry or to a reintegration of forensic knowledge into general psychiatry.