Tag Archives: DJ Eldergill

Prohibitive Transparency Orders: Honest mistakes or weaponised incompetence? 

by Daniel Clark, 28th June 2024 I try not to see conspiracy behind the multiple transparency failures of the Court of Protection. The judicial system is busy and overstretched, and mistakes are (unfortunately) inevitable: links won’t be sent in time, listings won’t be always accurate, video links won’t always be set up. However, I mustContinue reading “Prohibitive Transparency Orders: Honest mistakes or weaponised incompetence? “

Pettifogging? Judge invites Office of the Public Guardian to reconsider application to revoke LPA

By Claire Martin, 2 June 2023 Update 15th July 2026: Now retired District Judge Eldergill has confirmed that the application was withdrawn by the OPG. He states that in his opinion, their application was misconceived. This was an application from the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) for a declaration that P’s (purported) appointment of hisContinue reading “Pettifogging? Judge invites Office of the Public Guardian to reconsider application to revoke LPA”

Access to the community for P: a s.21A deprivation of liberty hearing

Judge Eldergill stated that P had mentioned wanting to be able to go to a restaurant (and there was also some mention of P being able to go to a bank). He referred to Paragraph X (of the Position Statement) which stated that the Home was concerned about P going out alone because he was at risk of absconding. However, the judge raised a point about the seemingly low likely risk of this happening, given that at another paragraph, it stated that P uses a Zimmer frame and so clearly has mobility issues. 

Observing a s.21A hearing and the importance of correctly drafting a Lasting Power of Attorney

The overall tone of the meeting was very positive, non-adversarial and there seemed to be a large degree of agreement between the participants. The judge was very welcoming and the overall impression from everybody was wanting to do the right thing for P. 

Accessing a Court of Protection hearing as an observer: My experience

I hope that my experience will encourage other people to observe hearings, in the spirit of open justice. It was certainly a learning experience for me and I will definitely be observing more often. My experience  – at least of this one hearing – is that accessing a COP hearing is not that hard, once the process is navigated.