By Jemma Woodley, Zach Moss and Upeka de Silva, 23rd June 2022 Editorial Note: The judgment has now been published: Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust v C & Ors [2022] EWCOP 28 We are three people who work for Compassion in Dying, a national charity that supports people to make their own decisions about end-of-life care inContinue reading ““She is religious and she is a fighter”: Three perspectives on best interests decision-making in the Court of Protection from ‘Compassion in Dying’”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Sisters’ dispute over Deputyship – and a concern about open justice
By Daniel Cloake, 20th June 2022 Two feuding sisters (Ms J and Ms E) have asked the Court of Protection to pick one of them as a deputy after their father lost capacity to manage his finances following a series of strokes. The hearing I observed was listed on the “Daily Hearing List” on the court’sContinue reading “Sisters’ dispute over Deputyship – and a concern about open justice”
Resisting Care: An unsuccessful s.21A challenge from a ‘feisty’ 94-year-old
By Celia Kitzinger, 19 June 2022 It was a week after the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations (this becomes relevant later!) and District Judge Searl was making a decision about a 94-year-old woman (“Hattie”) who lives in a care home but wants to return to her own home. The law It was a challenge under s.21A ofContinue reading “Resisting Care: An unsuccessful s.21A challenge from a ‘feisty’ 94-year-old”
Happy Second Birthday to the Open Justice Court of Protection Project
By Celia Kitzinger, Gill Loomes-Quinn, Claire Martin and Kirsty Stuart, 15th June 2022 It’s two years ago today since two of us (Celia and Gill) launched the Open Justice Court of Protection Project, at the beginning of the pandemic. It was born of our passionate belief that “publicity is the very soul of justice” atContinue reading “Happy Second Birthday to the Open Justice Court of Protection Project”
A short hearing and a failure to agree
Learning from the experiences of Litigants in Person and the difficulties they have navigating the legal system, in personal and emotive circumstances, is vital to supporting future Litigants in Person, particularly in light of reduced legal aid funding.
Fairness in court for a Litigant in Person
There’s an application for an injunction against P’s wife ordering her to move out of his house in two weeks’ time. This is because P would like to move back home (he’s currently in residential care) but she is alleged to have abused him.
Conditions on contact between mother and son: Missing P’s voice
By Celia Kitzinger, 9th June 2022 This was an urgent hearing to consider the issue of contact between Mrs M and her son. Until the end of last year, Mrs M, who is in her eighties and has dementia, lived with her son at his home. Her son was her main carer. She’s now livingContinue reading “Conditions on contact between mother and son: Missing P’s voice”
Bringing a very long saga to an end: A final hearing, transparency issues, and delays with a charging decision
By Paige Taylor, 8th June 2022 On 23rd May 2022 I watched a remote hearing (COP 13585739) before Mrs Justice Lieven. I am currently a Bar course student at the Inns of Court College of Advocacy, and I wanted to observe a Court of Protection hearing because I have an interest in mental capacity and disability law, particularlyContinue reading “Bringing a very long saga to an end: A final hearing, transparency issues, and delays with a charging decision”
“What good is it making someone safer if it merely makes them miserable?” A contested hearing and delayed trial of living at home
By Celia Kitzinger, 3 June 2022 The quotation in the title of this blog is (as many readers will recognise) from a judgment by Munby J. In full, the relevant passage reads as follows: A great judge once said, “all life is an experiment,” adding that “every year if not every day we have to wager ourContinue reading ““What good is it making someone safer if it merely makes them miserable?” A contested hearing and delayed trial of living at home”
Treatment delay: “My son has got disabilities but that doesn’t mean he’s a nobody”
Research has painted a troubling picture of the quality of healthcare people with a learning disability have received (or not received) over the course of the pandemic, exacerbating already high levels of health inequalities
Promoting Open Justice in the Court of Protection 