Capacity to litigate: A young woman with anorexia nervosa

By Celia Kitzinger, 28 February 2023 The white leopard – also known as the ‘snow leopard’ – is rare and elusive. There are no more than six or seven thousand left in the wild and their numbers are declining due to habitat loss, poaching and the impact of climate change (WWF) But what does a whiteContinue reading “Capacity to litigate: A young woman with anorexia nervosa”

The silent courtroom: A remote hearing without sound – and why transparency matters

By Celia Kitzinger, 26th February 2023 On Wednesday 22 February 2023, I watched two and a half hours of a hearing before Mr Justice Moor in the Royal Courts of Justice  – without any sound, because Cloud Video Platform was malfunctioning.  Cloud Video Platform (CVP) often malfunctions.  I’ve heard lots of judges complain about it during courtContinue reading “The silent courtroom: A remote hearing without sound – and why transparency matters”

When doctors are not willing to offer treatments

By Celia Kitzinger, 13th March 2022 This was an unusual hearing because of its focus on a treatment (clinically assisted nutrition)  that doctors were not willing to offer.   By the day of the hearing, the person at the centre of this case (P) had not received nutrition for 10 days, ever since his nasogastric (NG) tubeContinue reading “When doctors are not willing to offer treatments”

Elective caesarean in her best interests

Despite guidance concerning applications for court-sanctioned interventions in childbirth, it’s common for cases to come before the court (as here) where women are within 4 weeks of their expected delivery, and judges regularly express concern that they are having to make decisions about childbirth for women close to (or even after) their due dates.