MCA 2005 s3
Mental Capacity Act 2005
(as amended)
Law as at 1/5/09
Part I contents: 1, 2, 3, 4, 4A, 4B, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 16A, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 21A, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 39A, 39B, 39C, 39D, 39E, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44
Without commentary: Plain text, Legislation.gov.uk
Law
Inability to make decisions
3.—(1) For the purposes of section 2, a person is unable to make a decision for himself if he is unable-
- (a) to understand the information relevant to the decision,
- (b) to retain that information,
- (c) to use or weigh that information as part of the process of making the decision, or
- (d) to communicate his decision (whether by talking, using sign language or any other means).
(2) A person is not to be regarded as unable to understand the information relevant to a decision if he is able to understand an explanation of it given to him in a way that is appropriate to his circumstances (using simple language, visual aids or any other
(3) The fact that a person is able to retain the information relevant to a decision for a short period only does not prevent him from being regarded as able to make the decision.
(4) The information relevant to a decision includes information about the reasonably foreseeable consequences of-
- (a) deciding one way or another, or
- (b) failing to make the decision.
Amendments
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 has been fully in force since 1 October 2007. For details of proposed amendments, see Mental Health Act 2007.