At first sight, this appeared to be a straightforward example of the post-AGNI legal framework in practice. The applicant local authority invited the court to discharge the COPDOL order. But there was a complication. The P in this case is a “restricted patient”, living in the community under “conditional discharge”.
Author Archives: openjusticecourtofprotection
The irony and the AGNI: After years of traumatic DOLS experiences, P no longer meets the criteria
We have asked ourselves umpteen times over the years what DoLS have ever done for Joe’s mother. Hopefully now, post-AGNI, we can be left to care and advocate for Joe’s mother as we have always sought to do, and the DoLS focus can rightfully shift to those vulnerable individuals who really are deprived of their liberty and don’t have anyone to advocate on their behalf.
“What your mother wants and what is best for P may not be the same thing”: Judge seeks family engagement and clarification of immigration status
I hope that the practical plan put in place by DJ Clarke will enable the family and professionals to collaborate effectively and ensure that the Official Solicitor can obtain P’s wishes and feelings. Ultimately, the decisions being made are about P’s life, and his voice must be at the centre of those decisions.
Objections (and breached conditions) after AGNI
Despite the obvious importance of establishing the legal basis of P’s confinement (is it or isn’t it a ‘deprivation of liberty’?), this judge – like others I’ve watched since AGNI – gave priority to considering whether P’s residence and care arrangements were in his best interests and the least restrictive necessary.
The ‘fit for discharge’ story continues: 10 months on
In April 2025, a woman with diagnoses of mild learning disability, emotionally unstable personality disorder, functional neurological disorder, dissociative disorder and elective mutism, was admitted to hospital. In September 2025, she had surgery and was soon afterwards declared medically fit to leave. But the discharge did not happen. Instead, the case became mired in the unresolved practicalities of getting her home resulting in a series of increasingly urgent Court of Protection hearings.
Polly and AGNI: A family reflection on deprivation of liberty
Polly has lived her life in the context of both the ‘ordinary usage’ of ‘liberty’ with its powerful social and political symbolism, and also the more peculiar legal definitions created by judicial interpretation of mental capacity legislation.
From Cheshire West to AGNI: Rebalancing Protection, Autonomy and Human Rights
One positive consequence of the AGNI judgment may be that it encourages professionals to refocus on their own responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act. By reducing the number of cases that require formal deprivation of liberty authorisation, there is an opportunity for practitioners to develop greater confidence in undertaking capacity assessments, making best interests decisions and applying the Act in day-to-day practice.
Considering ‘deprivation of liberty’ in a family home setting after AGNI
HHJ Burrows determined that there is no deprivation of liberty for a young woman living under constant supervision and control in an annex to the family home. It was clear from his comments in court that he did so with considerable reluctance, referring to “deeply philosophically difficult” arguments.
Judge authorises medical treatment and DOLS in hospital following AGNI
In the end, despite having watched the hearing and heard the oral judgment, I don’t know why this judge made the decision she did about deprivation of liberty in this case – which pretty much defeats the purpose of observing a hearing in the first place.
AGNI: A common-sense judgment or agony?
For people who consider their loved ones well cared for, safe, and happy, the pre‑AGNI deprivation of liberty (DoL) processes were nonsensical and often intrusive. For that reason, the current judgment brings a sense of relief to many. But for other individuals, whose daily lives are dictated and constrained by institutional or quasi‑institutional regimes, with simple choices removed from their decisional space, and an array of human‑rights abuses hidden behind closed cultures, this judgment may have a more detrimental impact.
Promoting Open Justice in the Court of Protection 