International Journal of Mental Health and Capacity Law archive

This page contains some historical information about the International Journal of Mental Health and Capacity Law.

Background information

This section contains an introduction to the new journal written in 2014, and calls for papers from 2015.

Introduction to the new journal

Skip the 'Short introduction' if you have time to read the 'Longer introduction' (both were provided by Kris Gledhill, for publication, in June 2014)

Short introduction

The Journal of Mental Health Law is to be relaunched as the International Journal of Mental Health and Capacity Law. Here are some brief features of the proposal:

it will be an open access online journal, hosted by the University of Northumbria (whose other journals are also moving to that platform);
its new name reflects its wider focus, ie including mental capacity law and also expressly aiming to cover international and comparative perspectives also;
it will mix articles and commentary on cases;
the JMHL’s inclusion of material aimed at practitioners will continue, but there will be more flexibility from the online format to have articles with a higher academic content as well (since people will be able to download individual articles that catch their interest).

The planned structure for editorial purposes is that there will be an editor in chief (which will be me) and three editorial teams (ideally an an academic, a legal practitioner and a mental health professional) who will have responsibility for every third issue. There is scope also to have special editions with guest editors. The aim is two issues a year, and so the editorial commitment will be one journal every 18 months. There will also be a wider team of reviewers: double blind peer reviewing will remain a feature, certainly for the articles. Volunteers are required for the editorial teams.

For further information (and to volunteer), please contact:

Kris Gledhill

k.gledhill@auckland.ac.nz

Longer introduction

The Journal of Mental Health Law is to be relaunched as the International Journal of Mental Health and Capacity Law. Here are some features of what is planned:

it will be an open access online journal, hosted still by the University of Northumbria (whose other journals are also moving to that platform); the back issues are being digitised and will go online; the possibility of having print on demand versions for libraries and the like is something that I would like to explore;

its new name reflects its wider focus, ie providing an outlet for research and commentary on mental capacity law, which is limited at present; whilst the JMHL also had articles covering the law outside England and Wales, it seems sensible also expressly to aim to cover international and comparative perspectives;
it will mix articles and commentary on cases, as did the JMHL, but perhaps with a change in emphasis that is worth noting; the inclusion of material aimed at practitioners will continue, but the flexibility from the online format is to be exploited by having more academic articles as well (since people will be able to download individual articles that catch their interest); this in turn should mean that editorial restrictions that previously applied, such as a word limit of 5000 words, can be relaxed and something of a 10-12,000 word limit can be used;
it is aimed to have two editions a year; the date of the relaunch depends on a number of features, but ideally all the necessary arrangements can be made to have something ready to go in early 2015.

The planned editorial structure – and putting this together may be the key to how long it takes for the Journal to re-emerge - is as follows (and is designed to ensure that the basic reason why the JMHL went into hibernation, namely the editor retiring from academia, is neutralised):

there will be an editor in chief (which will be me);
there will be three editorial teams who will have responsibility for every third issue; with the aim of two issues a year, the editorial commitment will be to produce one journal every 18 months;
there is scope also to have special editions with guest editors (perhaps of papers from a particular conference etc);
each editorial team should have an academic, a legal practitioner and a mental health professional (but that is not an absolute prerequisite); it will be possible for the singular academic to be a group of academics at a particular institution that has a concentration of mental health/capacity academics;
it is planned that editorial teams will come from various jurisdictions;
there will also be a wider team of reviewers (and double blind peer reviewing will remain a feature, certainly for the articles).

The editorial teams will be responsible for formulating the details of editorial policies and mechanics such as house style, strategies to ensure that we become an established and respected journal that ticks relevant boxes for academics and for practitioners as well.

The format and editorial structure suggests the following target audiences:

lawyers working in mental health and mental capacity law
mental health and social work practitioners
academics in the relevant fields (mental health and mental capacity law, psychiatry, psychology, social work)
policy makers in the mental health and mental capacity fields

A summary of what is to stay the same and what is to change from the JMHL is as follows. The aim to be relevant to practice will be retained; the mixture of articles and case commentary will remain. The express inclusion of capacity law and international perspectives should support the inclusion of additional material based on these issues (which were not excluded from the JMHL but not targeted by it); and the additional flexibility of the online format should allow for the inclusion of longer articles that the JMHL could not accommodate.

For further information, to make suggestions, and to volunteer, please contact:

Kris Gledhill

k.gledhill@auckland.ac.nz

Calls for papers

February 2015

The editors and publisher of the International Journal of Mental Health and Capacity Law (ISSN: 2056-3922) are now in a position to receive papers. The Journal is an open access, peer-reviewed journal, producing two editions a year. It builds on the well-reputed Journal of Mental Health Law, with a revised name to reflect a wider focus.

We are keen to receive academic articles of up to 12,000 words and also shorter articles, practice points, case notes and reports of research of up to 5000 words, which cover topics at the intersection between law, mental health and mental capacity, both the civil and criminal aspects of this. A double blind peer review process will be used.

The editorial team for the first edition are Dr Jill Stavert, Director of the Centre for Mental Health and Incapacity Law, Rights and Policy at Edinburgh Napier University; Dr Giles Newton-Howes, consultant psychiatrist and senior lecturer at the University of Otago; Piers Gooding, research associate at the Centre for Disability Law and Policy, at the National University of Ireland, Galway; and Simon Burrows, barrister at Kings Chambers, Manchester, and Mental Health Tribunal Judge.

Please consult our About the Journal and Author Guidelines when preparing your submission.

Kris Gledhill

Editor in Chief

k.gledhill@auckland.ac.nz

September 2015: Further call for papers

The editors and publisher of the International Journal of Mental Health and Capacity Law (ISSN: 2056-3922) are making a supplemental call for papers. The Journal is an open access journal, producing two editions a year. It builds on the well-reputed Journal of Mental Health Law, with a revised name to reflect a wider focus. The planned publication date for the first edition is the end of December 2015/early January 2016. We would like to receive further papers to supplement those already going through the editorial and review process. The deadline for further papers to be considered for the first edition is 30 October 2015.

We are keen to receive academic articles, practice points, case notes and reports of research of around 5000 words, covering topics at the intersection between law, mental health and mental capacity, both the civil and criminal aspects of this. If a longer article is required, we will also consider articles of up to 10,000 words. A double blind peer review process will be used.

The editorial team for the first edition are Professor Jill Stavert, Director of the Centre for Mental Health and Incapacity Law, Rights and Policy at Edinburgh Napier University; Dr Giles Newton-Howes, consultant psychiatrist and senior lecturer at the University of Otago; Dr Piers Gooding, research associate at the Hallmark Disability Research Initiative and Melbourne Social Equity Institute, University of Melbourne; and Simon Burrows, barrister at Kings Chambers, Manchester, and Mental Health Tribunal Judge. Please consult our About the Journal and Author Guidelines when preparing your submission.