TO THE COURT OF PROTECTION FROM JORDAN PUBLISHING
An appreciation by Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers
As the relevance of the Court of Protection is still imperfectly understood by many members of the general public and by quite a few practitioners, this unique book from Jordan Publishing is certain to redress all that. You could call it the definitive guide to the workings and process of the Court of Protection.
The Court of Protection, with its own specialist judges, is precisely that. It was set up, in the words of the Law Commission Report of 1995, to protect, i.e. ‘make new provision for people who lack mental capacity.’ The Report proposed that the new Court of Protection should provide a single integrated framework for the making of personal welfare decisions, and decisions on health care and finance, including property.
Formerly, if you were a lawyer specializing in family matters, you might well have considered family and mental capacity issues as two distinct areas of law and practice. Increasingly however, especially following the Mental Capacity Act 2005, (which came into force in 2007) these two areas of law will inevitably overlap – particularly with respect to children and care work. The publication of this exceedingly useful work of reference is therefore timely.
Among other things, it tells you how to make an application to the court and guides you step by step to the appropriate process. Case studies are provided, illustrating typically, the types of situations you are likely to encounter in the course of your practice
The book contains detailed, yet concise examination of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 – including Lasting Powers of Attorney – and of course, the Court of Protection itself and its rules, as well as the work of the Public Guardian and Official Solicitor. Chapter 3, with its explanation of the history of the Court is especially interesting.
This is an impressively scholarly as well as readable work, complete with three appendices and Tables of Cases, Statutes, Statutory Instruments, Practice Directions and Abbreviations. As Denzil Lush, Senior Judge of the Court of Protection has observed, this book ‘does what it says it does on the label. It is a book for family lawyers about the Court of Protection.’
Written by Marc Marin, a nominated judge of the Court of Protection, the book is to be highly recommended, not just for barristers and solicitors, but for all professional advisers, from doctors and social workers to local authorities and voluntary organizations dealing with invariably sensitive family matters that require the involvement of the Court of Protection.
The law is stated as at May 2010 and is the definitive guide to the court of protection for family lawyers.