Book excerpt: The economic impact of society’s efforts to rehabilitate and contain psychopathically disordered individuals can be enormous. Understanding these disorders, developing valid assessment methods and providing safe, effective treatments is therefore of paramount importance. Reflecting the work of a truly international panel of experts from Europe, North America and Asia, the International Handbook on Psychopathic Disorders and the Law offers an in-depth, multidisciplinary look at key aspects of the development and etiology of psychopathic disorders, current methods of intervention, treatment and management, and how these disorders impact decision-making in civil and criminal law.