Ethics and forensic psychiatry

As an interdisciplinary subject at the junction of psychiatry and the law, forensic psychiatry is confronted with a variety of complex ethical issues. The underlying ethical theory for forensic psychiatry is not yet well formulated, but is distinguishable from that for clinical psychiatry generally. Professional society codes for the practice of forensic psychiatry are evolving. Common ethical issues in forensic psychiatry include boundary problems, objectivity, financial arrangements, psychiatric participation in the death penalty, and the enforcement of ethical practice in forensic psychiatry.