From Bedlam to the Court of Protection

James Gatenby

Chavasse Court Chambers Liverpool

What does the family lawyer or for that matter any lawyer do when a client who is anxious about a vulnerable family member comes through the door. The sign outside says ‘family lawyers'. To the man in the street the artificial distinctions drawn by the legal services commission the profession or even the court itself are completely at odds with the natural order. How bizarre it must seem to be told that the family courts cannot exercise their jurisdiction beyond a child's 18th birthday.

Although few family lawyers have any real knowledge of the Court of Protection most have heard of ‘best interests inherent jurisdiction' cases in the High Court or money cases in the (old) Court of Protection. Both of these jurisdictions protected the interests of those without the capacity to make decisions for themselves but neither survived the introduction of the new Court of Protection on 1 October 2007. The new court is a very different animal to what a simple marriage of the...

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