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Category: Case comments


What should happen where it appears impossible to engage the person? A high-stakes question for the Court of Protection

Posted on 19 June 2023 Updated on 20 June 2023

In Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust & Anor v RL & Ors [2023] EWCOP 22 (a decision handed down in… Read more

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Posted in Best interests, Capacity, Case comments, Medical treatment, Mental Health     Tags: assessing capacity, Best interests, capacity, communication     Leave a comment     


Hegel and testamentary capacity: a synthesis between the common law and the MCA 2005?

Posted on 21 May 2023

The philosopher Hegel famously considered that progress was made by a thesis being advanced, to which an antithesis could be… Read more

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Posted in Case comments, Testamentary capacity     Tags: testamentary capacity     Leave a comment     


39 Essex Chambers Mental Capacity Case Reports: new headnoted series launched

Posted on 5 April 2023

As the Court of Protection Law Reports series has been discontinued by LexisNexis, the Court of Protection is losing a… Read more

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Posted in Case comments     Tags: capacity, Case reports     Leave a comment     


Rights of older persons – UN working group (and action which can be taken already)

Posted on 4 April 2023

The thirteenth session of the UN Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing for the purpose of strengthening the protection of the human… Read more

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Reporting restrictions and serious medical treatment cases – a difficult (evidenced) balance

Posted on 31 March 2023 Updated on 4 April 2023

In the conjoined appeals of Abbasi and Haastrup [2023] EWCA Civ 331, the Court of Appeal has grappled with the… Read more

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Posted in Case comments, Media, Medical treatment, Practice and Procedure     Tags: Media, medical treatment, practice and procedure     Leave a comment     


Capacity, best interests and divorce: does the Court of Protection have a role?

Posted on 30 March 2023

[This post is a joint effort by me together with Neil Allen and Emma Spruce, Counsel acting for D in… Read more

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Posted in Best interests, Case comments     Tags: Best interests, Court of Protection, Divorce     Leave a comment     


Fluctuating capacity – making rights real and practical, not theoretical and illusory

Posted on 18 March 2023

Hot on the heels of the decision in North Bristol NHS Trust v R [2023] EWCOP 5, another decision has… Read more

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Posted in Capacity, Case comments     Tags: capacity, Fluctuating capacity     Leave a comment     


A capacity masterclass from MacDonald J (and an updated capacity guide from us)

Posted on 10 March 2023 Updated on 10 March 2023

In 2015, in Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust v C and V [2015] EWCOP 80, MacDonald J provided both the… Read more

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Posted in Best interests, Birth arrangements, Capacity, Case comments     Tags: assessment of capacity, Best interests, birth arrangements     2 Comments     


Fluctuating capacity, emotional dysregulation and public protection: a swansong for Hayden J

Posted on 20 February 2023 Updated on 2 March 2023

The case of A Local Authority v H [2023] EWCOP 4 concerned a young adult, H, described by Hayden J… Read more

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Posted in Capacity, Case comments, Practice and Procedure     Tags: capacity, Fluctuating capacity, transparency     Leave a comment     


Systemically failing the human rights of children: the President of the Family Division shouts as loudly as he can

Posted on 31 January 2023

It is exceptionally unusual for a judge, let alone a very senior judge, actively to invite a claim to be… Read more

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Posted in Case comments, Deprivation of liberty     Tags: children, deprivation of liberty, Mental health     One comment     


Posts pagination

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Recent Posts

  • If you do not know you are doing wrong, can you sue for not being prevented from doing it? – the Supreme Court pronounces

    21 January 2026
    The Supreme Court has allowed the appeal of three of the relevant public bodies in the Lewis-Ranwell case, concerning the effect... …Read More »
  • Nearest relatives – the law and the reality: in conversation with Nick Robinson, Judy Laing and Jeremy Dixon

    20 January 2026
    In this ‘in conversation with,’ I talk to Nick Robinson, Professor Judy Laing, and Dr Jeremy Dixon about the website that... …Read More »
  • New 39 Essex Chambers website, but same mental capacity resources!

    17 January 2026
    My Chambers have launched a new and zippy version of our website.  But don’t worry, all the content that you... …Read More »
  • Supporting the legal capacity of all persons with disabilities – in conversation with János Fiala-Butora

    12 January 2026
    In this ‘in conversation with,’ I talk to the lawyer and academic Dr János Fiala-Butora about his new book, Implementing the... …Read More »
  • Personal welfare deputies, principle and pragmatism

    10 January 2026
    In Parr v Cheshire East Council & Anor [2026] EWCOP 1 (T3), and whilst expressly applying, rather than seeking to... …Read More »

RSS National Archives Mental Capacity cases

  • Clive Leonard Stephenson & Anor v Gerard Anthony Daley & Anor 19 January 2026
  • Alison Parr v Cheshire East Council & Anor 9 January 2026
  • Stuart John Pilbrow v Nicola Jane Eileen Glanville & Anor 8 January 2026
  • London Borough of Lewisham v SL & Anor 19 December 2025
  • Priti Patel v Nicholas O'Sullivan & Ors 19 December 2025
  • Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust v EF & Ors 19 December 2025
  • SW v Nottingham City Council & Anor 19 December 2025
  • White and Sterling Residential Care Limited v Care Quality Commission 17 December 2025
  • Nicola Anne Lowe v Lucy Daniells 17 December 2025
  • The Nursing and Midwifery Council v Ishaq Ibrahim 15 December 2025

RSS National Archives Mental Health Act cases

  • Optosafe Limited & Anor v John Mark Robertson 5 January 2026
  • Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust v EF & Ors 19 December 2025
  • Jamie Jenkins v R 18 December 2025
  • White and Sterling Residential Care Limited v Care Quality Commission 17 December 2025
  • ABW, R (on the application of) v Secretary Of State for the Home Department 17 December 2025
  • R v Akram Miah 16 December 2025
  • D (Contempt: Sentencing), Re 16 December 2025
  • Angus Cameron v Secretary of State for Justice & Anor 4 December 2025
  • Powys Teaching Health Board & Anor v NT & Anor 1 December 2025
  • R v Sundeep Singh 28 November 2025

RSS Mental Health Law Online updates

  • Job advert. Stephensons Solicitors LLP, Wigan - Court of Protection solicitor.
  • Tribunal reasons guidance. Practice Direction from the Senior President of Tribunals: Reasons for decisions (4 June 2024)
  • Case (Ex turpi causa). Lewis-Ranwell v G4S Health Services (UK) Ltd [2026] UKSC 2
  • Case (Ex turpi causa). Lewis-Ranwell v G4S Health Services (UK) Ltd [2024] EWCA Civ 138
  • Case (Inadequate reasons about treatment). MK v Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust [2025] MHLO 17 (UT)
  • Open justice. Mark Sutherland Williams, 'The family court and open justice: evolution, reform, and wider implications for the HESC Chamber' (14 January 2026)
  • Welfare benefits and hospital orders. DWP, 'Convicted criminals detained in hospitals set to lose benefits' (press release, 15 January 2026)
  • Case (Sentence reduced). R v Holland [2025] EWCA Crim 1628
  • New website layout
  • Case (Aftercare accommodation charging complaint). London Borough of Lewisham (LGSCO, 18 010 781)

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