By Celia Kitzinger, 20th March 2023 At a closed hearing by telephone, out-of-hours on Saturday 25th February 2023, Mr Justice Hayden granted an order that it was in P’s best interests to be removed from the home where she lives with her sister (Q) and taken to an emergency placement. Mr Justice Hayden also approved anContinue reading “Emergency placement order in a closed hearing”
Tag Archives: Transparency
‘Deprived of her liberty’: My experience of the court procedure for my mum
I am sharing these thoughts in the hope that it might help other families in similar situations – and I’m writing also for the legal professionals involved in what is, for them, probably routine work, to help them understand more about what it feels like for a family member.
Where shall P live?
This is a woman who led walking groups for much of her adult life, loved the outdoors, loves gardening and has found great- what in modern parlance we’d call ‘well-being’ in those things, but really they are things she enjoys doing and has found in them great joy and solace.
Treatment escalation for a teenager in ICU
By Rhiannon Snaith, 16th March 2023 I am a PhD student at Cardiff University researching media representations of end-of-life decisions. I have previously observed a number of hearings in the Court of Protection (CoP) and have blogged about several cases (see bio). I was keen to watch this hearing as I’d learnt that it wasContinue reading “Treatment escalation for a teenager in ICU”
Discharge from hospital: Light at the end of a very long tunnel
Daniel Clark, 10th March 2023 – with new update by Celia Kitzinger about the emergency hearing on 16th March 2023 (added at end of blog post) This hearing (COP 14036761, before Mrs Justice Theis) was scheduled to begin at 10:30am on Monday 6th March, 2023. However, the Judge was engaged with an urgent matter and soContinue reading “Discharge from hospital: Light at the end of a very long tunnel”
Injunction against a mother: ‘Biting the bullet’
By Avaia Williams, 8th March 2023 The person at the centre of this case (DS), a man in his early thirties, has been living in an acute hospital ward for over 14 months. That’s not due to a difficult-to-treat medical condition, or to a detention considered necessary under the Mental Health Act 1983 or aContinue reading “Injunction against a mother: ‘Biting the bullet’”
‘The baby has to come out’: Court-authorised caesarean when subject-matter and litigation capacity are disputed
By Ruby Reed-Berendt, 3rd March 2023 The woman at the centre of this case (SEM) was 32 years old and pregnant with her first child. The Trusts responsible for her obstetric and psychiatric care had made an application that it would be lawful to carry out a caesarean section, notwithstanding that – in the view of all theContinue reading “‘The baby has to come out’: Court-authorised caesarean when subject-matter and litigation capacity are disputed”
A ‘closed materials’ hearing on forced marriage
By Celia Kitzinger, 1st March 2023 (revised 3rd March 2023) This is the first time I’ve watched a hearing before Mrs Justice Theis since she became Vice President of the Court of Protection on 13th February 2023. One of the last things the previous Vice President, Mr Justice Hayden, did before he stood down earlier thisContinue reading “A ‘closed materials’ hearing on forced marriage”
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”
Promoting Open Justice in the Court of Protection 