Seeking clarification of criminal law’s understanding of mental illness

For many years, Linda Gröning has focused particularly on understanding mental illnesses within the criminal justice system and how to address questions of criminal responsibility. As a recipient of an ERC Consolidator Grant, she has the opportunity to lead a groundbreaking project that has the potential to change the understanding of mental illness in criminal law.

- Current criminal justice systems are based on the premise that human beings are responsible agents that can be held accountable for their actions. However, most criminal justice systems have legal doctrines recognising that there are exceptions when an individual should not be considered criminally accountable.

She believes that we need clearer understanding of how the law relates to psychiatric diagnoses and psychiatry’s concepts of mental illness. In criminal cases, expert assessments of mental illness are used and emphasized. However, there are significant variations in the functioning of individuals with the same diagnosis, and also different understandings of mental illness.

“The legal relevance of mental illness for criminal responsibility is unclear. What are the boundaries between those who are punished and those considered criminally insane? It is a major challenge for legal systems all around the world," says Gröning.

Will collect data from 20 countries

The EU grant is 2 million euros, and is awarded to outstanding researchers. The grant will go towards the research project COMPLEX, which will last five years and collect data from 20 countries. The project is interdisciplinary and includes perspectives from psychology, medicine and philosophy in addition to law.

"COMPLEX is a highly ambitious project that can only be realised with the type of resources an ERC grant provides," says Gröning.

Gröning's goal is to bring new knowledge about how the law relates to psychiatric diagnoses and psychiatry's concepts of mental illness. The hope is that the research can also contribute to providing a basis for better legal and forensic practice.

Balancing various considerations

Gröning is motivated by a commitment to how the legal system understands and cares for people with mental illness. At the same time, she acknowledges that the law must balance various considerations, including protecting society when necessary.

“Therefore, I believe we need increased legal – and interdisciplinary – focus to develop the legal understanding of mental illness. This is necessary to arrive at correct and fair decisions for individuals and the society,” she says.

Gröning is concerned that the reliance of legal decisions on psychiatric diagnoses, can lead to unequal treatment before the law. She explains that there are large variations in the functional ability of people with the same diagnosis, and that there are also different understandings of mental illness.

"This complexity is not always clear in the legal system. We need a more nuanced understanding of the legal significance of mental illness than what we currently have”, according to the law professor.

Unclear links between criminal insanity and mental illness

One specific example she highlights is how the law views planning in relation to criminal liability. Legal precedents demonstrate that a person’s “planning ability” can be considered an argument for accountability, even if the person is severely mentally ill.

“However, if we scientifically try to explain how mental illness affects the ability to plan, we quickly encounter challenges. What do we mean by “planning”? Are we talking about decision-making skills or executive functions? What are the nuances regarding “planning” in legal terms, and the steps a mentally ill perpetrator has taken toward an action, from a psychiatric perspective?”

Gröning believes that building bridges between different disciplines is of high importance.

"Do we speak the same language when we talk about how and why the phenomenon of mental illness matter to legal rules and decisions about criminal insanity? This requires more knowledge”, she asserts.

International focus

Gröning have high ambitions for future research. With COMPLEX, she aims to further advance legal understanding of mental illness trough interdisciplinary and international research collaboration. The project could potentially lay the groundwork for changing the entire framework and discourse on the relevance of mental illness in criminal law.

One of the question she intends to investigate is how we understand the relevance of mental illness in different countries.

“There seems to be common traits across countries in this legal area. For example, psychosis is a central condition for criminal insanity in many places. However, we know little about how this relevance is specifically understood and to what extent it varies between countries. I believe there is a significant need to scientifically examine whether there is alignment between the assumptions about mental illness that the legal system relies on and the knowledge we have about mental illness," she says, adding:

“As a next step, we would like to explore the prevailing arguments and whether they differ from country to country, to assess the claims underlying decisions about criminal responsibility and punishment”.

Leading from Bergen

As it stands today, Gröning believes that current practices risk subjecting some of society’s most vulnerable individuals to significant injustice and differential treatment. This pertains to sentencing, compulsory treatment, societal expectations of safety, and attitudes toward mental illness.

“Norway is one of the most resource-rich countries globally, yet we still face substantial challenges in this field. We also know that in many other countries, the problems are even greater. It motivates me that here in Norway, based on the strong academic community at the University of Bergen, we can take the lead in developing knowledge in this area," concludes the law professor.

Dean Karl Harald Søvig is impressed by the work that Gröning has done in building a leading research environment at the faculty related to criminal responsibility. Linda Gröning is the first recipient of an ERC grant at the Faculty of Law, and she is also the first legal scholar in Norway to be awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant.

"The faculty is very honored by this award. It is a recognition of research at a high European level. Congratulations to Linda Gröning and the people she has worked with to develop this project", says Søvig.

*Linda Gröning is currently not available. Inquiries about the grant can be directed to dean Karl Harald Søvig.