Chapter 3: Deciding for Others - Adults

This is part of the online companion site to the book Medical Treatment: Decisions and the Law - The Mental Capacity Act in Action, edited by Christopher Johnston, written by members of 3 Serjeants' Inn and published by Bloomsbury Professional in 2010.

The site provides (1) updating material as it becomes available and (2) hyperlinks to website addresses given in the hard copy. The material is organised according to the book's chapter headings. Click on the chapter headings on the left-hand side to access the material for other chapters.  

Updating material    

Update to paragraph 3.13 - Determination of best interests

21/07/09: Observations of Court of Protection Senior Judge on the duty to consult under s4(7)(b) Mental Capacity Act 2005

In the context of a decision about an Enduring Power of Attorney, the Senior Judge made the following point of general application:

'The first line of section 4(7) provides that any best interests decision-maker 'must take into account, if it is practicable and appropriate to consult them, the views of' various categories of individuals. In my judgment, where any attempt at consultation will inevitably be unduly onerous, futile, or serve no useful purpose, it cannot be in P's best interests, and it would be neither practicable nor appropriate to embark on that process in the first place.'

www.publicguardian.gov.uk/docs/allen.pdf

Added 18/12/09  

Hyperlinks

Paragraph 3.1 - Footnote 3:
See www.justice.gov.uk/guidance/mca-code-of-practice.htm and in particular sections 1–6, 8 and 9.
 
Paragraph 3.9 - Footnote 1:
Summary of the Act by the Department of Constitutional Affairs: http://www.dca.gov.uk/legal-policy/mental-capacity/mca-summary.pdf.