Court of Appeal 'redefine' Liberty
The Court of Appeal Judgement in Cheshire West and Chester v P appears to redefine the concept of deprivation of liberty to exclude disabled people, in effect depriving anyone locked up by social services on the basis of an *alleged* disability of safeguards and appeal rights.
This judgment has been criticised in
this excellent article by Sam Smith - along with many others including
Community Care magazine ,
39 Essex Street Chambers and the Mental Health Alliance .
I have argued for the reform of the Court of Protection for some time - and this judgement only underscores the serious problems with the system.
The Mental Health Alliance will be proposing options for reform in a forthcoming report and it is to be hoped the Department of Health listens. This is one of the most pressing issues facing this country today. Extract from the report
here.