BW is objecting as loudly and frequently as her condition enables her to do. I agree with Ms Butler-Cole that this is not a marginal situation. This is the very exemplar of why the state is under an obligation to provide safeguards.
Tag Archives: Legal Practice
Two non-compliance hearings concerning Finance Deputyship applications: Finding pragmatic ways forward
By Celia Kitzinger, 23rd October 2026 There were five hearings concerning ‘non-compliance with court orders’ listed, for 15 minutes each, before DJ Ellington sitting remotely at First Avenue House on Monday 19th October 2026. I watched two of them, at 11am and 12.30pm.[1] Both hearings concerned family members who’d made applications to become Deputies for PropertyContinue reading “Two non-compliance hearings concerning Finance Deputyship applications: Finding pragmatic ways forward”
After AGNI, are local authorities attempting to conclude proceedings inappropriately?
“One of the impacts of the AGNI decision is that it has led to Local Authorities attempting to conclude proceedings in inappropriate circumstances.” (Counsel for P via the Official solicitor)
Reducing restrictions for a person deprived of his liberty: internet use, access to services and ensuring appropriate support
Senior Judge Hilder (and the OS) seemed very familiar with how difficult it can be to ensure that organisations follow through on their responsibility and how easily a timetable can slip.
When compliance is not consent: Applying AGNI when P is sedated and objecting
This hearing the opportunity to see how the Court is approaching the Supreme Court’s new, multifactorial test for deprivation of liberty following A Reference by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland (AGNI).
Unlawful deprivation of liberty and the retrospective effect of AGNI: When the capacity requirement is not met
Following AGNI, has P (who has capacity to make decisions about care and residence) been deprived of her liberty for the purposes of making a human rights claim?
Fit to discharge or fit to section?
The family members are adamant that the new care providers are “the worst agency they’ve been involved with” and report receiving somewhere between 50 and 100 distress calls each day from P in which she begs them to prevent her having to go home with those carers. Their view is that if P returns home with this care provider, then her quality of life at home would be no better than her remaining in hospital.
What happens to restricted patients after AGNI? SJ Hilder considers the consequences
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”.
“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.
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.
