summary
Even after recent amendments and proposed modifications, the Dutch law on special admissions to psychiatric hospitals ('Bopz') is still primarily a law on admissions, whereas what psychiatry and society in general urgently require is a law on treatment. In October, 2005, in Scotland a new law concerning the care and treatment of psychiatric patients came into force: the Mental Health (Care and treatment) Act 2003 ('Act'). This new law can in fact be designated a treatment law. In this article the Scottish Act is compared to the Bopz. The comparison shows that Scotland has in fact developed a law which may provide an answer to the inadequacies of the Bopz.