Homeless People: Who Are They?

From Bergstein Abogados

In Uruguay, the law does not provide an express definition of the so-called  homeless people . However, the website of the Ministry of Social Development refers to them by referring to two categories of people : “those who spend the night outdoors and those who do so in a center of the shelter system .”

A 2011 law gave the Administration the power to transfer homeless people who are in an open situation – provided they represent a serious risk of illness or death – to receive medical care, even if they do not give their consent. In other words, a kind of compulsory and forced medical care.

More recently, a law from last June added another situation that grants the Administration the same powers: these are cases of people living outdoors whose judgment is affected as a result of a psychiatric pathology, or due to the consumption of psychoactive substances. In these cases, the Administration may also transfer these people without their consent, provided that they represent an imminent risk to themselves or to third parties.

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For any questions regarding this material, please contact Dr. Juan Ignacio Tournier ( jtournier@bergsteinlaw.com ) and/or Dr. Jonás Bergstein ( jbergstein@bergsteinlaw.com ).