The tension between cross-border cooperation in the European Area of Freedom, Security and Justice and the fundamental rights of mentally ill offenders in detention.

In two recent judgements, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has given an alarming signal regarding the placement, care and treatment of mentally disordered offenders in Belgium. This article analyses these judgements and the Court's assessment that Belgium faces a structural problem regarding the detention of people with a mental illness in prison. By exploring other recent ECtHR decisions across the EU and combining this with an analysis of international norms and standards, it contends that there is something amiss regarding the post-trial approach towards mentally disordered offenders in an EU-wide context.

Protecting the fair trial rights of mentally disordered defendants in criminal proceedings: Exploring the need for further EU action.

Using the new legal basis provided by the Lisbon Treaty, the Council of the European Union has endorsed the 2009 Procedural Roadmap for strengthening the procedural rights of suspected or accused persons in criminal proceedings. This Roadmap has so far resulted in six measures from which specific procedural minimum standards have been and will be adopted or negotiated. So far, only Measure E directly touches on the specific issue of vulnerable persons.