The Supervisory Board in accordance with Section 71 of the Constitutional Act
The Supervisory Board in accordance with Section 71 of the Constitutional Act supervises cases involving people deprived of their liberty, i.e. psychiatric patients and children who are involuntarily detained and dementia patients detained in a care home. The conditions under which these people live are key issues in the work of the Supervisory Board.
Tasks and responsibilities
The Supervisory Board in accordance with Section 71 is one of the Danish Parliament’s select committees. The Supervisory Board is laid down in accordance with Section 71(7) of the Constitutional Act. Its remit is to supervise cases in which people are deprived of their liberty, including psychiatric patients and children involuntarily detained at an institution and dementia patients detained in a care home.
The Supervisory Board only supervises cases involving deprivation of liberty where this step is not taken by order of a judicial authority. The Board does not supervise cases involving deprivation of liberty under the auspices of criminal law, as such cases are beyond the Supervisory Board’s remit.
Notifications regarding conditions at facilities housing individuals deprived of their liberty may reach the Supervisory Board through various channels. Citizens have the option to directly apply to the Board, which may lead to members posing inquiries to ministers or the relevant regional/municipal authority or institution responsible for the detention. An application may also prompt the Supervisory Board to visit the institution/unit in question.
However, the Supervisory Board cannot issue injunctions against institutions/units or assess the legal basis for detention.
The Supervisory Board drafts an annual report at the end of the Danish parliamentary year.
Supervisory visits
The Supervisory Board in accordance with Section 71 of the Constitutional Act makes unannounced and announced visits to the institutions/units that receive persons deprived of their liberty where this step is not taken by order of a judicial authority. Such visits may be prompted by the Board’s investigation of a specific case. However, the Supervisory Board may also make such visits on its own initiative. At visits, the Supervisory Board assesses the circumstances under which persons deprived of their liberty live. For example, the Supervisory Board may address a psychiatric patient’s access to fresh air and a varied diet, or general matters, such as overcrowding.
After every supervisory visit, members of the Supervisory Board will usually ask questions of the authority responsible for the unit. Once it has a response, the Supervisory Board publishes a report containing its assessment of the conditions under which the person or persons deprived of their liberty now live.
Meetings with organisations
Every year, the Supervisory Board in accordance with Section 71 of the Constitutional Act meets the Danish Parliament’s Ombudsman and Landsforeningen af Patientrådgivere og Bistandsværger i Danmark (the national association of patient advisers and legal guardians). Associations, organisations and similar bodies may help to elucidate precisely which factors create difficulties for individuals deprived of their liberty from the perspectives of the following groups:
- psychiatric patients
- children in compulsory detention
- next-of-kin
- staff
If they have a specific and relevant purpose, associations, organisations and similar bodies may therefore request a meeting with the Supervisory Board in accordance with Section 71 of the Constitutional Act.
Private citizens are also welcome to contact or meet with the Supervisory Board if they wish to notify of a subject within its remit.