Legal Capacity: A Guide to Assisted Decision-Making

This book covers the new Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 in detail. It sets out the background to the Act with a description of the EU cases and conventions that shaped it and provides an in-depth guide to the legislation, including comparative analysis and relevant case law from other jurisdictions, to guide practitioners as to how the legislation is likely to be applied in practice.

Key Features of the 2015 Act:

• It applies to everyone and to all health and social care settings.
• It provides for the individual's right of autonomy and self-determination to be respected through an Enduring Power of Attorney and an Advance Healthcare Directive – made when a person has capacity to come into effect when they may lack decision-making capacity.
• It provides for legally recognised decision-makers to support a person maximise their decision making powers.
• It places a legal requirement on service providers to comprehensively enable a person make a decision through the provision of a range of supports and information appropriate to their condition.
• It abolishes the Wards of Court system.
• It provides for a review of all existing wards to either discharge them fully or to transition those who still need assistance to the new structure.
• It repeals the Lunacy regulations governing the Ward of Court system.
• It establishes a Decision Support Service with clearly defined functions which will include the promotion of public awareness relating to the exercise of capacity by persons who may require assistance in exercising their capacity.
• The Director of the Decision Support Service will have the power to investigate complaints in relation to any action by a decision-maker in relation to their functions as such decision-maker.

This title serves as a guide to the legislation and its implications.