A 15-year-old boy suffering from Asperger syndrome must be released from a psychiatric hospital, a regional court in Warsaw has ruled, overturning a lower court’s order.

During a juvenile case involving the boy, the family court judge halted proceedings and imposed therapy for the child at a psychiatric hospital some 300 kilometers from his family home. The child was not provided with defense counsel.

His mother, with the help of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, appealed the judge’s decision, but the child was eventually brought to the hospital with police assistance.

Slow justice

The complaint against the decision was considered by an appellate court two months after it was lodged, and the court then took another two months to examine the complaint. As a result, the boy was held in the psychiatric hospital from October 2014 to the end of February 2015.

The case raises serious doubts about the guiding principles of Poland’s juvenile justice system. International standards developed by the UN and the Council of Europe highlight specific guidelines for juvenile proceedings, which should be guided by the best interests of the child and the principle of proportionality. Each case should also be handled fairly, and international law dictates that the detention of a minor should only be used as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.