[Compliance with psychiatric legal ordinance section 63 STGB. Legal principles--current status--treatment concepts--perspectives].

According to German law, delinquents who are considered either not fully responsible or not responsible at all for their actions because of a mental disorder receive no punishment or a lesser degree of punishment in criminal trials. They may, however, be sentenced to psychiatric treatment either in a psychiatric hospital or in an addiction centre, if the risk of them committing such offenses in the future is considered to be high. This article reviews the current situation of mentally ill offenders in hospitals and explores possible developments in forensic psychiatry. It outlines the legal framework, and the current and developing treatment strategies, and finally raises the question of whether these developments will lead to further specialization of forensic psychiatry or to a reintegration of forensic knowledge into general psychiatry.