denotes premium content | Jan 8 2009 Regular
posted 27 Jul 2007 in Volume 12 Issue 5
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice
I wonder if readers of the Elderly Client Adviser will have seen the summer 2007 edition of entitlement, the newsletter of Title Research? Amongst the usual tales of genealogical derring-do from the farthest reaches of the globe, and following the news that Title Research has received The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category, Denzil Lush, Master of the Court of Protection, has contributed an excellent article on the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice.
In it, he sets out the background to, and purpose of, the Code, listing and briefly commenting on each of the Code’s 16 chapters. The article also discusses those who have a duty
to comply with the Code (per the terms of S. 42(4) MCA 2005), for example donees of Lasting Powers of Attorney, those acting in relation to a person who lacks capacity in a professional capacity or for remuneration, and examines the implications of non-compliance.
The Munjaz case ([2205] UKHL 58, [2206] 2 AC 148) is cited as an example of the need to give satisfactory reasons for departing from the guidance contained in a code of practice. Going on to consider reasons for departing from the Code, Master Lush incorporates a number of points contained in Richard Jones’s Mental Capacity Act Manual, considers if and how the code should be revised when necessary and concludes that the Code has the potential to significantly change the way that those who are unable to make their own decisions are cared for.
The article as it appears in the newsletter is edited and abridged – for the full version, please visit www.titleresearch.com and follow the link from the top of the home page to the Library, where you will find the complete 3,200 word article in the Technical Briefs area.
Nicholas Beetham LLB is relationship manager, Trusts & Estates, at Title Research. He can be contacted on 020 7549 0900 or at nicholas.beetham@titleresearch.com
Title research, 24 Britton Street, London, EC1M 5UA.
DX 53347 CLERKENWELL.
T: 020 7549 0900 F: 020 7549 0949
