By Daniel Clark, 24th November 2024 The words, “it’s a process that isn’t fair”, were uttered towards the end of the hearing on 21st November 2024 by Alison Harvey, counsel for the protected party’s mother in this case. It’s rare to hear barristers explicitly criticise the fairness of court proceedings – and in this case, I think sheContinue reading ““It is a process that isn’t fair”: Structural injustice in the Court of Protection”
Tag Archives: Court of Protection
An in-person hearing on anorexia (Re CC): Observer’s rollercoaster and the role of “hope”
By Sydney White, 21st November 2024 My experience observing the final hearing of Re CC (previous hearings blogged as: Respecting autonomy in treating anorexia nervosa and Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa: A brief directions hearing) was tumultuous in more ways than one. I’ll first describe my unusually challenging time as an in-person observer at the Royal Courts of Justice and howContinue reading “An in-person hearing on anorexia (Re CC): Observer’s rollercoaster and the role of “hope””
The patient with no friends or family: A challenge for best interests assessment
Jenny Kitzinger, 15th November 2024 It felt quite lonely and empty in Court 33 in the Royal Courts of Justice when I went (in person) on 14th October 2024. The case (COP 14234849) concerned a man in his early 60s who’d suffered a cardiac arrest in 2017, been resuscitated, and then remained in a prolonged disorderContinue reading “The patient with no friends or family: A challenge for best interests assessment”
A review of transparency and open justice in the Court of Protection
By Daniel Clark, 13th November 2024 Headlines in 2016 described the Court of Protection as a “most sinister” and “most secret” court. It ‘left a 94-year-old without savings or dignity’. Looking back from the perspective of 2024 at the early years of the Court of Protection (since its modern incarnation in 2007), it is clearContinue reading “A review of transparency and open justice in the Court of Protection”
Respecting autonomy in treating Anorexia Nervosa
This case concerns a young woman with a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa. A Trust seeks court declarations about her treatment.
Cross-jurisdictional challenges and Schedule 3 in a case of anorexia: Health Service Executive of Ireland v SM [2024] EWCOP 60
By Sydney White, 11th November 2024 This case (COP 13398706) concerns a young woman (SM) with a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa and a history of depressive episodes. She’s “habitually resident” in Ireland but has for some time been receiving treatment at Ellern Mede, a specialist eating disorder provider in England. Hayden J has heard this case beforeContinue reading “Cross-jurisdictional challenges and Schedule 3 in a case of anorexia: Health Service Executive of Ireland v SM [2024] EWCOP 60”
How much court ‘oversight’ should there be in long-running COP cases?
By Claire Martin, 6th November 2024 UPDATE: An application to name the local authority (originally prevented by the terms of the Transparency Order) was successful. The local authority is Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead . This hearing (COP 11868452), before HHJ Tolson, on 23rd September 2024, at Reading County Court, was listed as a two-hour ‘fact-finding’Continue reading “How much court ‘oversight’ should there be in long-running COP cases? “
A protracted hospital stay: A next hearing in the ‘renal failure’ case
At the end of October 2024, a man in his forties with Down Syndrome and learning disabilities, was removed from his home and transferred to hospital against his own and his father’s wishes.
An urgent case: Renal failure and an application for forced ‘extraction and conveyance’ to hospital
By Claire Martin, 31st October 2024 P is a man in his 40s, with Down Syndrome and learning disabilities. Two years ago, in 2022, he was diagnosed with ‘significant renal problems’. They’ve been difficult to monitor because P’s father, with whom he lives, is said to believe that doctors intend to harm his son. TheContinue reading “An urgent case: Renal failure and an application for forced ‘extraction and conveyance’ to hospital”
Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa: A brief directions hearing (with a new postscript on transparency)
This case concerns CC, who has a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa. A Trust seeks court declarations about her treatment.
Promoting Open Justice in the Court of Protection 