Defendant’s or convict’s competency to stand trial – forensic psychiatric evaluation

The purpose of this paper was to draw attention to particularly important aspects of pronouncing forensic psychiatric judgment regarding the accused or convicted individuals’ competency to stand trial. The level of a person’s mental capacity should be established using a structured psychiatric interview concerning a variety of aspects of a trial. Emphasis should be placed on evaluating the defendant’s consciousness of the charges, knowledge of the potential punishment, ability to make significant decisions and be engaged in defense, knowledge about the role that particular people present in the courtroom play, understanding of the meaning of the evidence gathered in the case, the risk of aggression. The analysis should take into account the specificity of the mental disorder, the influence of proceedings on the course of disorder, as well as the presence of reactive disorders. Using testing tools by the expert can facilitate the process of evaluation to a certain degree. Forensic psychiatric evaluations can give rise to difficulties for the experts, what with the changing legal regulations and their interpretations. It would be justified to develop the standards of evaluation in this kind of cases, which would on the one hand apply to experts but which would also be respected by the judicial organ.