GUARDIANSHIP REGULATIONS AND PSYCHIATRIC LIAISON SERVICE

The goal of the new guardianship law in Germany, in effect since 1992, is to enable the mentally ill to lead as independent a life as possib le and as long as possible without any legal action. However, a compar ison of 81 (1991) cases decided under the old law and 82 (1992) decide d under the revised law as part of a psychiatric liaison service at a large general hospital showed that in practice the benefits for one of the main groups affected, elderly patients with dementia, might be re latively small, There are two reasons for this: the legal decision abo ut incompetency has become more complicated and the social circumstanc es of the individuals affected can be changed very little by the law.