openjusticecourtofprotection

Decluttering P’s home: Who represents P?

By Celia Kitzinger, 17 June 2024 This was a 20-minute hearing (case number COP 14104740) before DJ Deborah Campbell, sitting in Bristol on 20th May 2024. It appeared in the Courtel/CourtServe listings as “Public with reporting restrictions, via Teams” concerning “(a) If RP has capacity to decide whether his home should be decluttered (b) WhetherContinue reading “Decluttering P’s home: Who represents P?”

Happy fourth birthday to the Open Justice Court of Protection Project

By the core team of the Open Justice Court of Protection Project, 15 June 2024 Four years ago today, on 15th June 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Celia Kitzinger (retired academic psychologist) and Gill Loomes-Quinn (disability scholar-activist) launched the Open Justice Court of Protection Project. It was born of our passionate belief that “publicityContinue reading “Happy fourth birthday to the Open Justice Court of Protection Project”

Court-authorised caesarean with chemical and physical restraint if required: A 14-minute final hearing

By Claire Martin and Nell Robson, 13th June 2024 This is a case we’ve blogged about before: “Caesarean: A directions hearing”. At that point, just under a week before, Deputy High Court Judge Victoria Butler-Cole KC, asked for a full-day final hearing to deal with an application for a court-authorised caesarean for a woman who (probably)Continue reading “Court-authorised caesarean with chemical and physical restraint if required: A 14-minute final hearing”

Irish cases in the Court of Protection

Jake Thorold & Chiara Cordone, 11th June 2024 Ordinarily, the Court of Protection is concerned with the personal welfare or property of people who are “habitually resident” (a term used in cases involving children and vulnerable adults) in England and Wales. On occasion, however, the Court is required to step outside of this comfort zoneContinue reading “Irish cases in the Court of Protection”

The Public Guardian, Gifts and Attorneys

By Georgina Baidoun, 10 June 2024 My interest in observing COP cases is limited to cases involving attorneys and deputies, and these are usually about property and financial affairs. There are few of them to observe and they are increasingly listed as being ‘in person’, which makes it hard for me to attend. I was thereforeContinue reading “The Public Guardian, Gifts and Attorneys”

“Getting it right first time around”: How members of the public contribute to the judicial “learning experience” about transparency orders

By Celia Kitzinger, 7th June 2024 We operate a “Watch List” at the Open Justice Court of Protection Project. We do this because the Court of Protection doesn’t always get things right first time around. Sometimes we find repeated problems with how particular judges’ hearings are listed (e.g. they don’t have descriptors to tell us what they’reContinue reading ““Getting it right first time around”: How members of the public contribute to the judicial “learning experience” about transparency orders”

My experience at Weymouth Combined Court: listing, access, and transparency

By Peter C Bell, 30th May 2024 It was one of those days where I had not really intended to do any Court watching. I was back in Weymouth to help the family to support my elderly father after the recent loss of both his wife (my mother) and then his elder sister and casuallyContinue reading “My experience at Weymouth Combined Court: listing, access, and transparency”

Caesarean: A directions hearing

By Celia Kitzinger, 27th May 2024 The purpose of a “directions” hearing is for the judge to narrow down the issues that are to be decided, and to give instructions (“directions”) on how the case will proceed. The point is to sort out procedural and practical matters. Directions hearings often cover actions that need to be taken (e.g., capacityContinue reading “Caesarean: A directions hearing”

Challenging a Transparency Order prohibiting identification of the Public Guardian as a party

By Celia Kitzinger, 24th May 2024 UPDATE: There was a hearing about this matter on 30th May 2024 at which the prohibition on identifying the Office of the Public Guardian as a party in the case was lifted. It was, said the judge, a “mistake” to have included this prohibition in the Transparency Order. ForContinue reading “Challenging a Transparency Order prohibiting identification of the Public Guardian as a party”

A private hearing before DJ Glassbrook

By Claire Martin, Celia Kitzinger, Peter C Bell and Kim Dodd, 22nd May 2024 A few months ago, we published an audit of “private” hearings – that is, hearings that appear as “private” in the lists on Courtel/CourtServe. What we found is that at least 50% of those “private” hearings had been wrongly listed as such. The judgeContinue reading “A private hearing before DJ Glassbrook”