P.R. Laws tit. 24, § 6153b
The lack of interest or the inability of the parent with legal or physical custody, the legal guardian or the person with physical custody or the duty to provide care and shelter to a person, shall not constitute grounds for having him/her placed in a mental healthcare hospital when he/she does not meet hospitalization criteria. If this should be the case, the director of the institution shall file a petition with the court to secure adequate care and shelter. The practice of hospitalizing a person when he/she does not meet adequate clinical criteria shall be penalized pursuant to the provisions of § 4796 of Title 33.
The criteria to be met by any person so that a court may order mandatory psychiatric treatment, be it on an outpatient basis or by hospitalization, are:
(a) Situations posing the imminent danger of the person inflicting harm upon him/herself or others or damaging property or whereby the person proves to be unable to make decisions or control his/her behavior.
In such a case, it shall be required to provide proof of the specific behavior within a time lapse that precedes the time of filing the petition; proof of the absence of less-intensive alternatives that could equally correct or improve the person’s symptoms and signs; and proof of the fact that the treatment or measure requested shall yield beneficial clinical results.
No person shall be placed involuntarily or receive mandatory treatment unless there is clear and convincing proof, to the court’s satisfaction, that there is a need for such placement or treatment, according to the criteria established in this section.
History —Oct. 2, 2000, No. 408, § 2.03; Aug. 6, 2008, No. 183, § 5.