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”
Tag Archives: Legal Practice
Anorexic woman gets to make her own (incapacitous) decisions, says Hayden J
By Celia Kitzinger, 19 May 2024 “It does not follow that when a judge is satisfied that the presumption of capacity has been rebutted that it is automatically incumbent on the court to take decisions for the protected party…. Sometimes it is in the best interests of the protected party to take decisions for themselves,Continue reading “Anorexic woman gets to make her own (incapacitous) decisions, says Hayden J”
A chaotic start to a hearing – and assessment of Mum as carer ordered
By Amanda Hill, 17 May 2024 “Open justice is a fundamental principle in our courts”. That is the standard line included in many of the court listings. This means that members of the public, like me, can observe hearings. Sometimes, obstacles are put in our way. In this hearing, certain members of the public wereContinue reading “A chaotic start to a hearing – and assessment of Mum as carer ordered”
Centenarian challenges deprivation of liberty – and judge manages transparency failings efficiently
Celia Kitzinger, 16 May 2024 There are more than 500 centenarians in Devon, and she’s one of them. Until September 2023, she lived at home with her daughter. Now she’s deprived of her liberty in a care home, where she’s been for around six months, following discharge from hospital after a fall. She wants toContinue reading “Centenarian challenges deprivation of liberty – and judge manages transparency failings efficiently”
A day in the Court of Appeal
By Cliodhna Carroll, 8th May 2024 Editor’s note: You too can watch this hearing – it’s recorded and available on YouTube here: https://www.judiciary.uk/live-hearings/re-a-by-her-litigation-friend-the-official-solicitor/ On 30th April 2024, having cancelled my day due to a bad cold and looking like Rudolph the reindeer, I reached for my iPad to find something to entertain me and remembered thatContinue reading “A day in the Court of Appeal”
A contested capacity hearing
By Nell Robson and Claire Martin, 19 April 2024 We observed a hearing (COP 14181752) in Derby before District Judge Lubega on the 12th April 2024. It was listed like this on CourtServe: My (Nell’s) interest in this hearing was piqued because I am a sixth form student currently completing an EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) aboutContinue reading “A contested capacity hearing”
Extraordinary restrictions – “family are the experts”
By Celia Kitzinger, 14th April 2024 In an earlier blog post (“Unusual restrictions” for a 17-year-old), Claire Martin reported feeling “very alarmed” by restrictions to which this young man is subject, in self-contained padded rooms, behind a locked door, with 4:1 supervision. The judge in that hearing, DJ Glassbrook, had said these were “extraordinary restrictions which requireContinue reading “Extraordinary restrictions – “family are the experts””
Family tragedy and institutional delay in best interests decisions about life-prolonging treatment
By Celia Kitzinger and Jenny Kitzinger, 9th April 2024 The judgment has subsequently been published here: NHS North Central London Integrated Care Board v PC & Ors [2024] EWCOP 31 (T3) In July 2020, a woman identified in the judgment as “PC”, collapsed at home with a cardiac arrest. This was totally unexpected: she was otherwise fit andContinue reading “Family tragedy and institutional delay in best interests decisions about life-prolonging treatment”
“The immediate steps in the aftermath of that judgment”: Increasing concerns, a TZ care plan, and judicial continuity
by Daniel Clark, 8th April 2024 In a recent published judgment, it was found that EE has capacity to make decisions about sex and contraception ([2024] EWCOP 5). Her decisions may possibly be unwise ones (she’s said she wants to have a baby) but as the judge put it “however strong is the impulse to protect, the folliesContinue reading ““The immediate steps in the aftermath of that judgment”: Increasing concerns, a TZ care plan, and judicial continuity”
When P stops eating and drinking
By Ian Brownhill, 26th March 2024 This is not a blog about anorexia, withdrawal of artificial/clinically assisted feeding, nor is it a blog post about the ethics of voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED). Rather, it is an attempt to explain the circumstances in which the Court of Protection might become involved in a caseContinue reading “When P stops eating and drinking”
Promoting Open Justice in the Court of Protection 