39 Essex Chambers, 'Mental Capacity Law Newsletter' (issue 41, January 2014)
Mental capacity law newsletter "To start off, we cover a number of important English cases including the first contested decision upon the Court of Protection’s powers to consider hypothetical options; an important decision of the President on the Court’s international jurisdiction; a decision exemplifying the power of advance statements; and clarification upon the proper procedure to follow when seeking to commit for contempt in the CoP. We also provide coverage of what actually happened in the ‘forced C-section’ case, together with a note on an eagerly anticipated decision of the Court of Appeal relating to the duties of litigation friends which in the end was a complete non-starter. We also cover developments in practice and procedure including the abolition of the Official Solicitor’s waiting list for welfare cases and a significant consultation on civil court fees which proposes sweeping changes to the CoP fee structure. Amongst other Parliamentary business we cover the last evidential session of the House of Lords Select Committee considering the MCA 2005, hearing from Lord McNally and Norman Lamb MP. We also highlight in particular the new and important guidance from the Royal College of Physicians on Prolonged Disorders of Consciousness."