Noncompliance with the Psychiatric Reform Law in Judicial Decisions in the Municipality of Aracruz, State of Espírito Santo

Abstract

The problem addressed in this article concerns the noncompliance with Law 10.216/2001, known as the Psychiatric Reform Law, in judicial decisions issued by the Public Treasury Court of Aracruz/ES, revealing the gap between legal provisions and practice. The objective was to analyze how judicial action safeguards the fundamental rights of individuals in situations of mental health, considering the exceptional nature of compulsory hospitalization and the principles of legal garantism. The methods consisted of a qualitative analysis of twenty judicial decisions issued between 2024 and 2025, comparing them with the provisions of Law 10.216/2001, the resolutions of the Federal Council of Medicine, and specialized literature on Psychiatric Reform, Health Law, and bioethics. The results indicated the absence of prior inspection of clinics, transfer of patients to distant municipalities, lack of verification of the exhaustion of community-based resources, and incomplete or generic medical reports, undermining due process and the exceptional nature of the measure. As a conclusion, the study found that judicial practice tends to trivialize compulsory hospitalization, perpetuating asylum-like logics and producing effects of chronicity and social isolation. It recommends adopting complete medical reports, prior inspections, and creating regional beds to align the Judiciary with the principles of the Psychiatric Reform Law and the protection of human dignity.