(2023-07-20-ны өдрийн орчуулга)                Unofficial translation

LAW OF MONGOLIA

January 3, 2013                Ulaanbaatar city

ON MENTAL HEALTH

/Revised edition/

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.Purpose of the Law

1.1.The purpose of this Law is to regulate relations concerning defining the state policies and principles on the protection and support of the population's mental health, and the prevention of mental disorders; protecting the rights of people with mental disorders, participating them in social and economic relations, and supporting them for ensuring their independence; and establishing the legal basis of obligations of citizens and legal entities in order to ensure the conditions for obtaining psychological help, and of activities of organizations and medical professionals providing mental health care and services.

Article 2.Legislation on mental health

2.1.The legislation on mental health shall consist of the Constitution of Mongolia, the Law on Health, this Law, and other legislative acts enacted in conformity with them.

2.2.If an international treaty, to which Mongolia is a party, stipulates otherwise than this Law, then the provision of the international treaty shall prevail.

Article 3.The definition of the terms of the Law

3.1.The following terms used in this Law shall be understood in the below-mentioned meanings:

3.1.1."mental health" shall mean the person's state of not being mentally disorder as well as the capability of the person to normally live, work, study and make contribution to society by possessing the appropriate position in the society through adapting to society and the external environment;

3.1.2."mental health problem" shall mean the momentary disruption of human thought, emotions, and behavior as a result of social and psychological factors;

3.1.3."mental disorders" shall mean all diseases that are diagnosable by the criteria provided in the Chapter "Mental and behavioral disorders" of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD);

3.1.4."mental health promotion" shall mean measures directed to promote a healthy lifestyle that gives an opportunity to control over and improve mental health of individuals themselves or jointly with others;

3.1.5."mental health protection" shall mean a comprehensive set of medical, social, psychological and economic measures, aimed at maintaining mental health through organizing provision of mental health care and service for the population;

3.1.6."primary prevention of mental disorders" shall mean a comprehensive health and social measures aiming at diagnosing, managing, preventing, and mitigating the causes that contribute to psycho-behavioral disorders in persons and communities;

3.1.7."secondary prevention of mental disorders" shall mean measures for preventing mental and behavioral disorders, providing early diagnosis, providing mental health first aid, sending for reference and aid, and monitoring them at the family, soums and villages health centers;

3.1.8."tertiaty prevention of mental disorders" shall mean a medical specialized professional care to be offered at aimags and district health institutions and special professional centers in order to prevent mental and behavioral disorders from developing to chronicity, affecting a person's capacity to work, or becoming disabled;

3.1.9."mental health first aid" shall mean measures to be provided at the family, soums and villages health centers including early diagnosis of mental problems and prevalent mental disorders, counseling, treatment, sending for reference and aid, monitoring and preventing after getting specialized medical care;

3.1.10."society and community-based mental health care and services" shall mean to treat, rehabilitate, and care for persons with mental problems and prevalent mental disorders, while keeping them near to their homes and communities;

3.1.11."care services for mentally disordered individuals" shall mean the health and social welfare services of providing lifelong inpatient treatment, nursing, and rehabilitation for the mentally disordered individual who is homeless, does not  have any children and relatives to take care of him/her, is incapable of living independently and single;

3.1.12."psycho-social rehabilitation care and services" shall mean a comprehensive measures aimed at rehabilitating the living, communicating, working  and intellectual ability of the person which has been lost due to mental disorder, and improving the quality of life of mentally disordered person;

3.1.13."socially dangerous behavior of a mentally disordered person" shall mean the person is becoming unable to control him/herself and causing harm to his/her own or other's life or society due to mental disorder;

3.1.14."official work psychological norms" shall mean the rights, obligations, relations, conducts, and standards of ethics to be adhered to in the process of performing official duties;

3.1.15."behavioral disorder" shall mean the state of not being adhered to recognized publicly norms of ethical conduct, legal affairs, moral values, relations, disciplines, and healthy lifestyles, and unable to maintain a balanced lifestyle within the society and community;

3.1.16."psychiatrist" shall mean a medical professional who has graduated from a medical university, has completed a psychiatric specialization training program, and is licensed to treat;

3.1.17."a clinical psychologist" shall mean a psychiatrist who has specialized in the field of the clinical psychology;

3.1.18."psychotherapist" shall mean a psychiatrist who has specialized in the field of the psychotherapy;

3.1.19."psychologist" shall mean a professional who has completed advanced studies in the field of psychology;

3.1.20."doctors and other health workers who provide care and services to people with mental disorders" shall mean the definition specified sub-paragraph 3.1.6 of the Law on Health.

Article 4.State policy and principles on mental health of the population

4.1.The state policy on mental health of the population shall be determined by the state policy on health of the population as provided in the paragraph 4.1 of the Law on Health.

4.2.In the state policy on mental health of the population, the following core principle shall be adhered to in addition to the principles specified in the sub-paragraphs 4.2.1 and 4.2.3 of the Law on Health:

4.2.1.to implement set of a primary, secondary and tertiary prevention measures of the mental disorders aimed to prevent social and environmental negative factors affecting mental health.

CHAPTER TWO

DUTIES OF STATE BODIES, CITIZENS AND LEGAL ENTITIES IN REGARDS WITH MENTAL HEALTH PROTECTION AND SUPPORT

Article 5.Duties of state bodies on mental health protection and support

5.1.All levels of state bodies shall have the following duties within their competence with respect to protection and support of mental health of the population:

5.1.1.to organize measures to prevent negative social and environmental factors affecting mental health such as alcoholism, drug addiction, and addiction, and to comply with the standards, norms, and legislation approved by the competent authorities;

5.1.2.to organize training, promotion, and research activities aiming at improving the mental health of the population, and preventing mental disorders;

5.1.3.to establish inpatient treatment and medical and psychological counseling services in mental hospitals, aimag and district hospitals, to form and operate  teams of psychologists and social workers at the school and community levels;

5.1.4.to take measures to improve mentally disordered person's ability to live independently and participate in social life, including to involve them in professional training by taking into account their needs and capabilities, to provide them with employment opportunities, to keep them close to their families and communities, to provide them with the necessary equipment and tools for psycho-social rehabilitation care and services aimed at improving their living skills, and to create  social welfare and educational special services;

5.1.5.to resolve the issue of taking care of a mentally disordered person whose legal representative /parent, guardian/ has not been determined and/or who has incomplete civil legal capacity in accordance with Articles 63 and 64 of the Law on Family;

5.1.6.to present the mentally disordered person with civil legal capacity with respect to his/her rights, and to create opportunities for his/her legal representative to participate in the development, planning, and monitoring of mental health and social protection legislation.

5.1.7.to increase the share of funding needed for mental health care and services within the budget funding of the health sector, and to distribute it by focusing on mental health promotion and prevention measures, outpatient, society and community-based care and services, and psycho-social rehabilitation care and services;

5.1.8.to create jobs to provide psychosocial rehabilitation care and services, and to establish support centers and special nursing homes for people with mental disorders in aimags and districts;

5.1.9.other duties provided in the law.

Article 6.Duties of citizens and legal entities regarding the mental health protection and support

6.1.The legal entity shall undertake the following duties in order to protect and support mental health of the population:

6.1.1.to reflect and comply with the official work psychological norms in the organization's internal rules and procedures and collective agreements; organize measures aimed at supporting the mental health of the colleagues, create a peaceful working environment, and actively participate the colleagues in public activities organized by other organizations in this field, and to support and provide assistance thereto;

6.1.2.to organize activities to support and provide assistance to legal representatives of mentally disordered individuals with limited civil legal capacity.

6.2.The citizens of Mongolia shall undertake the following duties in order to support mental health of the population:

6.2.1.to esteem their own or others' mental health and create peaceful and comfortable condition in their own working, studying, and living environment;

6.2.2.to avoid humiliating and discriminating mentally disordered individuals;

6.2.3.to support and provide assistance to mentally disordered individuals to live independently and participate in social life.

CHAPTER THREE

TYPES OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE AND SERVICES, AND DUTIES, MANAGEMENT, AND FINANCING OF PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Article 7.Types of mental health care and services

7.1.The types of mental health care and services shall be as follows:

7.1.1.primary mental health care and services;

7.1.2.ambulatory;

7.1.3.inpatient hospital;

7.1.4.society and community-based;

7.1.5.care for mentally disordered individuals;

7.1.6.psychosocial rehabilitation.

7.2.Mental health care and services shall be implemented by legal entities with a special permit to engage in professional activities specified in the Law on Health.

7.3.The special professional center engaging professional activities for the provision of mental health care and services shall undertake the following duties:

7.3.1.to provide with integrated management, professional and methodological guidance in nationwide prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and taking under control of mental disorders, conducting psychotherapy, determining temporary disability, providing psychosocial rehabilitation reference care and services, and providing mental health care and services, and to monitor their operations;

7.3.2.to organize tasks to enforce this Law, the Law on Health, the Law on Control of Alcoholic Beverages Circulation and Combat against Alcoholism, the Law on Tobacco Control, the State policy on mental health, and the relevant National Program at the national level.

/This sub-paragraph was amended by the law as of July 5, 2022/

7.3.3.to prepare nationwide reports on mental disorders and to operate an information reference database;

7.3.4.to undertake forensic and psychiatric probabilistic analysis and draw conclusions in accordance with court orders.

7.4.The central institution for the provision of mental health care and services shall be a special facility with exceptional guard and security.

7.5.Relations in connection with the structure, organization, and management of organizations that provide reference, hierarchy care and services with specialized in specific types of mental health shall be regulated by the Law on Medical Care and Services.

/This paragraph was modified by the law as of April 22, 2016/

Article 8. Funding for mental healthcare and services

8.1.The funding for mental healthcare and service shall be subject to the sources specified in the Law on Health.

8.2.The relevant articles and provisions of the Law on Health shall be governed when providing mental health care, service, additional or paid care and services to be financed by the State budget.

Article 9.Principles to be adhered to and duties of medical professionals in providing mental health care and services

9.1.Healthcare organizations and medical professionals that provide mental health care and services to the general population shall undertake the following duties:

9.1.1.when treating a person with a mental disorder, to explain their rights, inform them in advance about the purpose, method, duration, importance, and possible adverse effects of treatment and examination, and obtain written consent from the respective person or his/her legal representative, if the respective person has no civil legal capacity;

9.1.2.if a person with a mental disorder or his/her legal representative refused to undergo treatment and examination, to present the potential consequences of not undergoing the treatment or examination or stopping them;

9.1.3.to apply criteria of the International classification of diseases (ICD), which is effective, into the diagnosis of mental and behavioral disorders;

9.1.4.to follow the list of essential medicines, approved by the State Central Administrative Body in charge of health affairs, as well as the medicine registration of Mongolia when treating the mentally disordered individual by the psychoactive medicine treatment;

9.1.5.to receive feedback on treatment and service quality from a mentally disordered person with civil legal capacity, or from his/her legal representative;

9.1.6.to organize psycho-social rehabilitation care and services for discharged mentally disordered individual jointly with his/her legal representative and relevant organizations;

9.1.7.not to demand any person to undergo mental examination, unless it is permitted by the law;

9.1.8.to strictly keep the diagnosis, treatment and personal information of the mentally disordered individual, and not to disclose them to others without his/her or the legal representative's consent.

/This sub-paragraph was amended by the law as of December 17, 2021/

9.2.Information shall be provided without the consent specified in sub-paragraph 9.1.8 of this Law in the following cases:

9.2.1.when the life of a mentally disordered individual is in risk, immediate information is required;

9.2.2.when the person has a likelihood of causing harm or distress to oneself or others;

9.2.3.to protect public safety;

9.2.4.for the official needs of medical and legal authorities;

9.2.5.for the purpose of research, and academics.

9.3.The procedure and duration for the care and services to be provided to mentally disordered individuals, and their monitoring, shall be approved by the state central administrative body in charge of health affairs.

9.4.The labor of doctors and other healthcare workers who provide care for people with mental disorders requires special qualifications, knowledge and expertise, and is subject to labor in difficult conditions, and the medical institution shall provide additional salary and monetary incentives to them within its budget, and take measures aimed at ensuring their social security and labor safety.  

9.5.The advice provided by a medical psychotherapist of the accredited hospital shall be included in the health insurance package of care and services to be provided to the insured.

CHAPTER FOUR

RIGHTS OF MENTALLY DISORDERED PERSON, RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF HIS/HER LECAL REPRESENTATIVE

Article 10.Rights of mentally disordered individuals

10.1.A person with a mental disorders shall have the following rights to protect his/her health, in addition to the provisions stated in sub-paragraph 43.1.3 of the Law on Health:

10.1.1.to obtain necessary mental health and medical services, and receive care and assistance;

10.1.2.to exercise the rights specified in sub-paragraph 43.1.4 of the Law on Health by a person with mental disorders who is with civil legal capacity except for the forced hospitalization and treatment;

10.1.3.to submit suggestions and complaints on the operation, treatment, and examination of the health care facility;

10.1.4.to request the attendance of his/her legal representative during treatment and examination.

10.2.A person with mental disorders who is with civil legal capacity shall be entitled to all political, economic, social and cultural rights of a citizen.

Article 11.Rights and duties of legal representative of mentally disordered person

11.1.Legal representative of mentally disordered person shall have following rights and duties:

11.1.1.to make requests and file complaints with appropriate organizations and officials within the limits of their legal authority for the protection of the rights of individuals with mental disorders;

11.1.2.to grant written authorization for the medical treatment of a mentally disordered individual lacking civil legal capacity, to undergo prescribed therapies and examinations, to adhere to the directives and counsel of the attending physician, to oversee the timely provision of treatment and services, to furnish assessments, and to file complaints;

11.1.3.to acquire information pertaining to the health status of an individual with mental disorders from their treating physician or healthcare facility, unless prohibited by law;

11.1.4.to furnish foods, clothing, shelter, and attentive care for an individual with mental disorders;

11.1.5.to release a mentally disordered person from a hospital and make arrangements for the funeral of an individual who passes away either at home or in a medical facility;

11.1.6.to plan, execute, and assess health and social care services for individuals with mental disorders, and to provide his/her suggestions on policy and legislation advancements in this regards;

11.1.7.other rights and duties specified in the legislation.

CHAPTER FIVE

FORCED HOSPITALIZATION, PROVISION OF SECURITY AND SOCIAL WELFARE ASSISTANCE FOR MENTALLY DISORDERED PERSON

Article 12.Forced hospitalization of mentally disordered person

12.1.Mentally disordered person shall undergo forced treatment in the following cases:

12.1.1.for the purpose of preventive measures in the event of attempted actions deemed hazardous to oneself or society;

12.1.2.in instances where the individual or their legal representative is unable to grant consent for treatment and examination, and a duly authorized medical specialist substantiates that the proposed treatment and examination align with the person's health and mental condition.

12.2.When implementing the forced treatment for a mentally disordered individuals within a hospital, it shall be based on the medical evaluation and recommendation of a duly licensed medical practitioner qualified to administer expert mental healthcare and services, as stipulated in paragraph 25.1 of the Law on Health, and the medical specialist shall promptly inform both the mentally disordered person and their legal representative of the rationale underlying the necessity for forced treatment.

12.3.A special commission shall decide whether the mental state of a mentally disordered individual who is being coercively treated in a hospital and who may commit socially harmful behavior corresponds the standards for involuntary treatment within 72 hours of admittance.

12.4.The composition and working procedures of the Verification and Determination Commission, as stated in paragraph 12.3 of this Law, shall be approved by the state central administrative body in charge of health affairs.

12.5.The state central administrative body in charge of health affairs shall approve the list of mental disorders requiring forced treatment.

Article 13.Ensuring the protection of mentally disordered person

13.1.Internationally recognized methods of isolation and restraint shall be used for mentally disordered individuals who pose a danger to society, if necessary, and the list of methods of isolation and restraint and the procedure for their use shall be approved by the state central administrative body in charge of health affairs.

13.2.The police office shall have a duty to cooperate in providing immediate assistance to a mentally disordered individual who may pose a threat to society, and in searching, apprehending, and returning them to the facility if the said person escaped from the medical facility.

13.3.The hospital environment for the inpatient treatment of mentally disordered individuals must fulfill sanitary and standard criteria, and create circumstances to provide psychosocial rehabilitation care and services, and to ensure the legal interests and safety of mentally disordered persons.

Article 14.Social welfare services for mentally disordered person

14.1.The issues of providing social welfare pensions and allowances, care, and services to persons with mental disorders shall be determined by the competent authorities in line with the applicable legislation based on the definition of the professional organization.

CHAPTER SIX

MISCELLANEOUS

Article 15.Liabilities to be imposed on the violators of the Law

15.1.If an action of the public servant who has violated this Law does not constitute a criminal nature, he/she shall be imposed liabilities stipulated in the Law on Civil Service.

15.2.An individual or legal person who has violated this Law shall be imposed liabilities stipulated in the Criminal Code or the Law on Violations.

/This article was modified by the law as of December 4, 2015/

THE CHAIRMAN OF THE STATE GREAT KHURAL OF MONGOLIA ENKHBOLD.Z