Medical ethics and human rights have been neglected in the field of psychiatry in Romania during the communist regime, this situation having been facilitated mainly by a permissive legislation for abuse. Romanian medical practice after 1989 has changed, at least in terms of legislation, by mo- ving from medical paternalism to individual autonomy, whereby patients have the right to make auto- nomous decisions based on information received from their physicians. Legislation in the field of psychiatry also changed in order to promote ethical principles and patients’ rights. In this paper, the authors analyze from an ethical and human rights perspective the psychiatric practice during the communist regime and then discuss about the current legislative framework in the Romanian psy- chiatry, how it manages to promote ethics and patients' rights and the issues arising from the applica- tion in practice of current legislation.