Dealing with the CETM

The Commission d’examen des troubles mentaux or CETM is an administrative tribunal.

The CETM is not like other tribunals, however. It is a specialized tribunal with unique responsibilities within the judicial system.

The CETM makes decisions only about people who have been found unfit to stand trial or not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder.

Unlike the criminal court, the CETM does not impose punishment. Its role is to guarantee public safety while also addressing the needs of those individuals.

A specific context

A person found not criminally responsible has been neither convicted nor acquitted of the crime. It is recognized that they committed the criminal offence, but not “by choice.” At the time, they were suffering from a mental disorder that prevented them from fully understanding the nature of their actions.

Rather than receiving a sentence, the accused person is considered a patient under the responsibility of the CETM and forensic services.

A decision that takes everyone’s safety into account

The CETM calls on the expertise of specialists in mental health for guidance in making its decisions. Rest assured that none of these decisions is made lightly.

Your safety is important. Before making a decision, CETM judges assess the risk to public safety—including yours—posed by the accused. This is, in fact, the most important factor that the CETM must consider when rendering a decision.