Key legal question
Whether the six-week involuntary placement for psychiatric assessment under Art. 397a Abs. 1 ZGB was lawful.
Extracted holding
The measure was lawful because serious grounds existed to consider protective confinement and a psychiatric assessment was necessary to clarify the appellant's condition.
Extracted reasoning
Art. 397a Abs. 1 ZGB permits confinement only for statutory weakness states and does not allow confinement solely for third-party danger. Exceptionally, a placement for assessment is permissible when protective confinement is seriously contemplated but essential grounds for a final decision are missing. Here the reports and file indicated suspected alcoholism, cognitive deficits, neglect, falls, poor self-care, and severe household deterioration; the appellant denied illness and would not likely undergo voluntary assessment.