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Cleo Perry KC & Mai-Ling Savage discuss the implications for practitioners of the demise of Cheshire West
- Considers legal reasoning and practical consequences for practitioners dealing with Court of Protection proceedings, of the Supreme Court’s decision in Reference by the Attorney General of Northern Ireland.
- Highlights key implications of the return of the multifactorial test, and key issues arising as a result.
- Refers to latest caselaw, Re Mustafa, in the Family Division.
Since the Supreme Court decision in P v Cheshire West and Chester Council and another; P and Q v Surrey County Council [2014] UKSC 19 (Cheshire West), deprivation of liberty has been defined by the ‘acid test’. It provided a clear test for practitioners and the court. On 2 June 2026, however, the Supreme Court handed down its judgment in a reference brought by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland concerning the compatibility of a proposed revised Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Code
