Miranda Mourby: Life after Cheshire West in principle and practice

The Court of Protection is gearing itself to deal with the practical consequences of the judgment in P v Cheshire West and Chester Council and other; P & Q v Surrey County Council [2014] UKSC 19 [2014] COPLR (forthcoming). The President has recently held a public directions hearing. The substantive hearing is due to take place in June and will address how best to case-manage the anticipated influx of applications.

However the more theoretical implications of the Supreme Court's decision have also yet to be resolved. For example does the principle of the ‘unimpaired comparator' extend beyond the question of an alleged deprivation of liberty? Should it apply equally to determinations of capacity or best interests? A case which raises these questions while perhaps not providing definitive answers is that of RB v Brighton...

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