Paternalism vs protection: the role of Re SA (inherent jurisdiction) through a case study of Islington London Borough Council v EF

Madeleine Whelan Barrister 36 Family

This article is an analysis of the recent case of London Borough of Islington v EF [2022] EWHC 803 and a summary of some caselaw looking at the way the Re SA jurisdiction which allows courts to make orders in relation to capacitous adults has been utilised by the Court of Protection in recent years. LB of Islington v EF is a case involving an 18 year old who was clearly vulnerable but did not lack capacity against whom the local authority sought an order to prevent her travelling to Brazil to meet a man she met online at age 14. This article examines the competing rights at play in such an application and examines the differing interests including the role of the state and the protection of vulnerable individuals. The article also looks at some past cases including the controversial case of Southend-On-Sea BC v Meyers [2019] EWHC 399 where an elderly but capacitous man was ordered not to live with his adult son due to the son’s poor influence on the man’s welfare and health. This article...

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