This session will look at the lessons learned over the period since the Mental Capacity Act 2005. It will consider the assessment of mental capacity in and out of the court room and also how the mental capacity jurisdiction in England and Wales has interacted with the inherent jurisdiction to protect those who are capacitous but vulnerable to undue influence, duress or coercion. The seminar will draw upon a major Wellcome Trust funded project ‘Mental Health and Justice,’ looking at contested capacity assessment (www.mhj.org.uk).
The training will be delivered by Alex Ruck Keene. Alex Ruck Keene is recommended as a ‘star junior’ in Chambers & Partners for his Court of Protection work. He has been in cases involving the Mental Capacity Act 2005 at all levels, up to and including the Supreme Court. He also writes extensively, has numerous academic affiliations, including as Wellcome Research Fellow at King’s College London, and has created the website www.mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk.