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Gretna Green and children’s capacity – in discussion with Jonathan Brown In the latest 'in conversation with,' I talk to Dr Jonathan Brown about the very different approach to the decision-making authority granted children in Scotland, prompted by his article arising out of this case decided in…

39 Essex Chambers May Mental Capacity Report The May 2026 Mental Capacity Report is now out. Highlights this month include: In the Health, Welfare and Deprivation of Liberty Report: Townsend updated, sex before the Court of Protection again, and a profoundly disturbing report on dementia in acute…

The May 2026 Mental Capacity Report is now out. Highlights this month include: In the Health, Welfare and Deprivation of Liberty Report: Townsend updated, sex before the Court of Protection again, and a profoundly disturbing report on dementia in acute hospitals; In the Property and Affairs Report: new OPG investigation requirements and the consequences thereof; In the Practice and Procedure Report…

In the latest 'in conversation with,' I talk to Dr Jonathan Brown about the very different approach to the decision-making authority granted children in Scotland, prompted by his article arising out of this case decided in Scotland just before Christmas 2025. The discussion hopefully serves both to alert people to the fact that they should not assume that things are the same either side of the border, to start to think about why this might be the case, and what this might suggest in terms of law reform.

AGNI – resources page, podcast and shedinar video I have started a resources page on the AGNI case, and will start to populate it as more guidance and the like emerges. The page includes links to a shedinar video that I have recorded about deprivation of liberty after the case, and also a podcast…

Instructing experts, and how long does the leash have to be for the acid test to be satisfied? Bristol City Council v CC & Ors EWCOP 19 (T3) is both an important and an interesting decision. It is important because Theis J set out a clear set of expectations instructing experts, and interesting…

39 Essex Chambers June Mental Capacity Report – and AGNI The June 2026 Mental Capacity Report is now out. Highlights this month include: In the Health, Welfare and Deprivation of Liberty Report: coverage of ‘year zero’ as regards deprivation of liberty following the AGNI case (the 'rapid reaction'…

The contact constraints on the Court of Protection The issue of visiting in care homes is a distinctly hot topic at the time of writing (May 2026). Linked, it appears, to high profile media coverage, DHSC has announced a review of Regulation 9A of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated…

Supreme Court overrules Cheshire West In A Reference by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland of a devolution issue under paragraph 34 of Schedule 10 to the Northern Ireland Act 1998…...

I have started a resources page on the AGNI case, and will start to populate it as more guidance and the like emerges. The page includes links to a shedinar video that I have recorded about deprivation of liberty after the case, and also a podcast recorded with Community Care, which talks more broadly about the case.

The June 2026 Mental Capacity Report is now out. Highlights this month include: In the Health, Welfare and Deprivation of Liberty Report: coverage of ‘year zero’ as regards deprivation of liberty following the AGNI case (the 'rapid reaction' webinar held on the day the judgment was handed down can be found here). In the Property and Affairs Report…

Bristol City Council v CC & Ors EWCOP 19 (T3) is both an important and an interesting decision. It is important because Theis J set out a clear set of expectations instructing experts, and interesting because it is an example of what is now a rare beast, a contest as to whether circumstances gave rise to a deprivation of liberty. It also includes what is now an increasingly standard reminder that dividing care and residence decisions can frequently be artificial.

The issue of visiting in care homes is a distinctly hot topic at the time of writing (May 2026). Linked, it appears, to high profile media coverage, DHSC has announced a review of Regulation 9A of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, itself introduced in England in the wake of the pandemic. Regulation 9A does not, however, apply to judges making decisions in the Court of Protection.

In A Reference by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland of a devolution issue under paragraph 34 of Schedule 10 to the Northern Ireland Act 1998 UKSC 16, a seven member Panel of the Supreme Court has unanimously overruled the 2014 majority decision in Cheshire West. The judgment is long and detailed. A summary by the Supreme Court can be found…

Position statements, transparency and the Court of Protection The Court of Appeal has allowed the appeal against the decision of Poole J in Re AB (Disclosure of Position Statements) EWCOP 25 (T3) and made clear that the guidance given in that judgment about providing position statements to…

Thank you very much to those who have been in touch about my website - it is being upgraded and should be back online by the end of the weekend.