Alex Ruck Keene@Capacitylaw

Barrister, writer and educator: mental capacity, mental health and healthcare ethics. Twitter used to share news; please email me: alex.ruckkeene@39essex.com.

mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.o…
Joined June 2014
45 Photos and videos
I lurk on Twitter from time to time but I only use it to share material from my website - it’s too compressed to use for comments. If you want to ask questions (and I like questions!) please email me at alex.ruckkeene@39essex.com
3
3
72
17,295
AGNI and children – the National DoL Lead Judge pronounces: mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.o…

AGNI and children – the National DoL Lead Judge pronounces

Re B (A Child: Complex Needs: Deprivation of Liberty) [2026] EWHC 2789 (Fam) represents a clear and detailed consideration and application of AGNI to those under 16.  It represents the first in wha…

mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk
3
4
788
Deprivation of liberty and public protection post-AGNI: mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.o…

Deprivation of liberty and public protection post-AGNI

HHJ Burrows continues to display a Stakhanovite approach to producing post-AGNI judgments.  In ZZ (Deprivation of Liberty in the Public Interest) (No. 2) [2026] EWCOP 57 (T2), two questions arose: …

mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk
5
9
834
AGNI - the first reported Northern Irish case: mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.o…

AGNI – the first reported Northern Irish case

Given that the AGNI case started with a devolution reference from Northern Ireland, it is of interest that – so far – there have been no reported cases from that jurisdiction applying the case.  On…

mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk
3
5
786
What does normality look like for the person? A cautionary AGNI tale: mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.o…

What does normality look like for the person? A cautionary AGNI tale

In NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB v AA & Ors [2026] EWCOP 56 (T1), Tribunal Judge Sharron, sitting as a Tier 1 judge, has further added to the post-AGNI stock of cases showing th…

mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk
2
10
1,033
What does normality look like for the person? A cautionary AGNI tale: mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.o…

What does normality look like for the person? A cautionary AGNI tale

In NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB v AA & Ors [2026] EWCOP 56 (T1), Tribunal Judge Sharron, sitting as a Tier 1 judge, has further added to the post-AGNI stock of cases showing th…

mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk
3
7
1,486
Responding appropriately to the physical health needs of those with mental health conditions – a case study:mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.o…

Responding appropriately to the physical health needs of those with mental health conditions – a...

Barts Health NHS Trust v CG [2026] EWCOP 55 (T3) is a relatively ‘routine’ serious medical treatment case, which Theis J identified was rightly brought because of the level of proposed restraint re…

mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk
1
5
9
1,071
Experiencing the 'necessary element' of coercion - another post-AGNI worked example: mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.o…

Experiencing the ‘necessary element’ of coercion – another post-AGNI worked example

TW v Worcestershire County Council [2026] EWCOP 54 (T2) is a thoughtful ‘worked example’[1] by HHJ Tindal applying AGNI, this time – and for the first time in a reported case – in relation to a per…

mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk
2
6
1,186
Article 8 protections after AGNI: mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.o…

Article 8 protections after AGNI

In Re PK & MK (Article 8 protections) [2026] EWCOP 52 (T2), HHJ Burrows picked up and developed a theme from his previous two decisions relating to deprivation of liberty after AGNI, namely the…

mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk
1
6
1,429
Court of Protection Handbook quarterly update - and personal welfare deputyship after HB: courtofprotectionhandbook.co…

Court of Protection Handbook quarterly update

The October 2026 quarterly update to the Court of Protection Handbook is now available. It provides updates on such matters as using documents disclosed in the Court of Protection in other proceedi…

courtofprotectionhandbook.com
1
3
664
Deciding deprivation of liberty in an “efficient, and relatively speedy” way: mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.o…

Deciding deprivation of liberty in an “efficient, and relatively speedy” way

Just as his decision in Re AR (Whether restrictions amount to a deprivation of liberty) [2026] EWCOP 45 (T2) arrived as the September Mental Capacity Report went to press, so HHJ Burrows’ latest de…

mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk
2
12
1,711
39 Essex Chambers October Mental Capacity Reports – Mental Capacity Law and Policy: mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.o…

39 Essex Chambers October Mental Capacity Reports

The October 2026 Mental Capacity Reports are now out.  Highlights this month include: (1) In the Health, Welfare and Deprivation of Liberty Report: capacity, presumptions and the Care Act 2014; and…

mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk
3
10
976
AGNI has changed the legal landscape around the right to liberty. But public authorities' duties under the Human Rights Act do not begin and end with Article 5. In the final blog in our series, BIHR CEO Sanchita Hosali looks at what happens next. buff.ly/HQ9HLNv

Rethinking the Right to Liberty: What Happens Next?

Rethinking the Right to Liberty is BIHR's five-part blog series on how the Supreme Court’s AGNI judgment redraws the line on Article 5 of the Human Rights Act. In our fifth blog, BIHR's CEO Sanchita...

bihr.org.uk
2
2
1
446
Capacity, presumptions and doubts – the Court of Appeal clarifies: mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.o…

Capacity, presumptions and doubts – the Court of Appeal clarifies

In TDB v London Borough of Haringey [2026] EWCA Civ 1168, the Court of Appeal has clarified the role that capacity plays in the context of the conduct of Care Act 2014 assessments.  The observation…

mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk
1
3
9
852
Capacity, the ‘support principle’ and assisted dying – the case of learning disability: mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.o…

Capacity, the ‘support principle’ and assisted dying – the case of learning disability

One of the consequences of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill cross-referring directly to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 is that the so-called ‘support principle’ in that Act is imported.  …

mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk
1
10
14
4,121
Case management and the Court of Protection - a wild idea (guest post): mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.o…

Case management and the Court of Protection – a wild idea [guest post)

[This is a guest post by Victoria Butler-Cole KC, a colleague of mine at 39 Essex Chambers, co-founder of the Mental Capacity Reports, and extremely experienced Court of Protection barrister] Anyon…

mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk
1
1
2
545
Suicide prevention and assisted dying - managing the tension: mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.o…

Suicide prevention and assisted dying – managing the tension

Suicide prevention is understood as a multi-agency public health endeavour aimed at reducing suicide deaths through a combination of individual and population-level interventions. National policy, …

mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk
4
7
920
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill updated briefings from the Complex Life and Death Decisions Group: mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.o…

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill updated briefings from the Complex Life and Death Decisi...

The second reading of Lauren Edwards’ Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is on Friday 11 September.  Together with my Complex Life and Death Decisions colleagues I do not take a positio…

mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk
3
9
9
2,786
Book Review: Graham Box and Kenneth Chambaere: Assisted Dying: The Great Legal and Moral Problem of Our Time: mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.o…

Book Review: Graham Box and Kenneth Chambaere: Assisted Dying: The Great Legal and Moral Problem of...

Book Review: Graham Box and Kenneth Chambaere: Assisted Dying: The Great Legal and Moral Problem of Our Time (Policy Press, 2026, 249 pp, £24.99, paperback / ebook) This (relatively) short and (rel…

mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk
1
565
39 Essex Chambers September 2026 Mental Capacity Report and walkthrough: mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.o…

39 Essex Chambers September 2026 Mental Capacity Report and walkthrough

The September 2026 Mental Capacity Report is now out.  Highlights this month include: (1) In the Health, Welfare and Deprivation of Liberty Report: an update on post-AGNI developments, two capacity…

mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk
1
7
943
Mental capacity end of term report: mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.o…

Mental capacity end of term report

The court term in England & Wales ends today, 31 July 2026.  Whilst this does not mean that the Court of Protection (or indeed the other courts) stop hearing cases, it does mean that there may …

mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk
3
6
770
Load more