Abstract

While the theoretical discussion on the dependence of care and justice is still ongoing, this contribution points to an unnoticed guest at the banquet: regulation. Via the concept of depersonalization, this contribution unveils that the current Flemish regulation on the use of seclusion cells in psychiatric hospitals might be an obstacle to care. Departing from a review of regulation on the basis of Tronto’s phases of care, this contribution maintains that regulation could and should be omnipresent in the domain of care, but that the act of caring itself may not be subject to constant regulatory concern. This involves an appeal to both regulation and care.