Mental Health Bill walkthrough
In this walkthrough, I go through the Mental Health Act 1983 as it would look if amended by the current version of the Mental Health Bill. I hope that it is of some help trying to understand the...
View ArticleTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Questions on the Bill (updated and...
Reassured by the fact that the House of Commons Library seem to have found some of the questions that I have asked about Kim Leadbeater’s Private Member’s Bill of use in preparing their (excellent)...
View ArticleMental Health Bill Second Reading and resources page
The Second Reading of the Bill took place in the House of Lords on 25 November 2024, Second Reading being the first substantive consideration by Parliament of the Bill. An excellent summary of the...
View ArticleCapacity, hospital discharge and possession orders – a checklist and a gap in...
Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust v Mercer [2024] EWHC 2515 (KB) concerns the challenge of delayed discharge from hospital and, specifically, when the delay to discharge comes from the fact that...
View ArticleCapacity, “capability” and consent – a complication concerning surrogacy
R & Anor v A & Anor [2024] EWFC 341 is a very sad case involving surrogacy. It was an application for a parental order by Mr and Mrs R, with respect to a 6 month old boy – in other words an...
View ArticleThe persistent urban myth of DoLS
R (Ibrahim) v Nursing and Midwifery Council [2024] EWHC 2991 (Admin) is a case which shows how the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards are still not well understood. It concerned an appeal by a...
View ArticleTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill resources page
I have now added a resources page to my website which seeks to set out relevant resources to enable understanding of the background to and context of the Bill, the Bill itself, and the views of...
View ArticleCapacity, sexual relations and public protection – another go-round before...
Re ZX (Capacity to Engage in Sexual Relations) [2024] EWCA Civ 1462 is a leapfrog appeal from a Tier 2 Judge to the Court of Appeal; a relatively recent innovation. It concerns the thorny issue of...
View ArticleDecember 2024 Mental Capacity Report and walkthrough
The December 2024 Mental Capacity Report will shortly be making its way to subscribers’ inboxes. Highlights this month include: (1) In the Health, Welfare and Deprivation of Liberty Report: the Court...
View ArticleThe Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and deprivation of liberty
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which passed its second reading in the House of Commons on 8 January, would amend s.25 Children Act 1989 significantly to expand its scope. The amendment (in...
View Article“On a DoLS”– mythbusting by a (rightly) exasperated Court of Protection
In Re EM (Deprivation of Liberty, Care Planning & Costs) [2024] EWCOP 76 (T2), HHJ Burrows helpfully busted some disturbingly frequent myths about DoLS. The case concerned a young woman,...
View ArticleObstetric cases and the Court of Protection – the need for timeliness (again)
Peel J in Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust & Anor v PQ [2024] EWCOP 73 (T3) has reiterated the need for timely applications to be made in the context of cases involving birth arrangements: 7....
View ArticleD/deaf individuals and capacity assessment – important observations from the...
Ahead of more detailed coverage of the nuances of this complicated case in the February 2025 Mental Capacity Report, it is worth highlighting the ‘lessons learned’ section of the judgment of Theis J in...
View ArticleTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – update and how to submit useful...
I have updated my resources page on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life Bill), but particularly welcome any position statements and the like from relevant organisations that I might have missed. As...
View ArticleMental Health Bill – Joint Committee on Human Rights call for evidence
The Joint Committee on Human Rights is undertaking scrutiny of the Mental Health Bill to assess its compatibility with international and domestic human rights standards. The Committee has a call for...
View ArticleThe Court of Protection and deprivation of liberty of those under 18
The President of the Family Division has set out public-facing Practice Guidance (January 2025) for cases transitioning from the National DOL List (“NDL”) to the Court of Protection. The Practice...
View ArticleLitigation capacity and a very clear statement from the Court of Appeal about...
MacPherson v Sunderland City Council [2024] EWCA Civ 1579 is another chapter in the very long-running saga concerning contempt proceedings against the appellant, the mother of the subject of (now...
View ArticleAutonomy and assisted dying / suicide – an important judicial light shed from...
Individual decision-making and its complexities was very much in the spotlight this week in the context of the oral evidence sessions held by the Public Bill Committee considering the Terminally Ill...
View Article39 Essex Chambers February 2025 Mental Capacity Report and Walkthrough
The February 2025 Mental Capacity Report is now out. Highlights this month include: (1) In the Health, Welfare and Deprivation of Liberty Report: myth-busting about DoLS and strong words about...
View ArticleTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill resources page updated
I have updated my resources page on this to give links to the written (and oral) evidence submitted by the key bodies who would be involved if the Bill is passed. I am afraid that time simply does not...
View Article