[Treatment of a patient against his will: ethical and legal approaches].

Treating a patient against his own will presents many ethical and legal challenges. Considering the way doctors see their profession, the human rights, and the belgian and european laws, the author tries to delineate the conditions that make such a paternalist attitude acceptable. These conditions include the patient's incapacity of rational reason and the necessity of immediate management. This exception to the principle of autonomy presents some dangers and pitfalls that are recalled.