[Decision making and the future of mental capacity. Steps towards an uncertain future within the context of CRPD]

Backgroundnbsp; Mental capacity, the criterion used today to determine who can make decisions independently, is under pressure from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Aimnbsp; To outline the prevailing view, the view of the UN Convention and a middle ground. To formulate steps to apply the spirit of the UN Convention today. Methodnbsp; Essay starting from the most relevant international human rights sources within the United Nations and the Council of Europe, supplemented by secondary literature on these sources. Resultsnbsp; The UN Convention abandons mental capacity as the criterion to determine whether a patient can make decisions autonomously. At the same time, it rejects any form of coercion applied directly or indirectly because of mental illness. Conclusionnbsp; The UN Convention does not offer a clear alternative, so the future is uncertain. Nevertheless, the important principles of the UN Convention should not be forgotten; they can already be implemented today by being aware of the role of human rights in mental health care, by placing the quality of decision-making at the center and by making less and more conscious use of coercion.