“Over recent years, it has become increasingly clear that the different constituent parts of the United Kingdom are taking very different approaches to the dilemmas posed by mental ill-health, and, in particular, the legal frameworks designed to secure admission and treatment for mental disorder: from (stalled) ‘fusion’ in Northern Ireland, to ‘human rights enablement’ in Scotland, to stasis in England and – most recently – a potential private members’ bill in Wales to recast parts of the Mental Health Act 1983 there.  In this talk, Alex Ruck Keene KC (Hon) will take stock of the position and tease out its implications for those who may experience mental ill-health, but who happen to find themselves on one side of a border rather than another within the United Kingdom.