Mental Capacity Act code 'out of date'

The Bar Council has called for the Mental Capacity Act 2005 code of practice to be updated to address human rights, covert medication and social care issues.

In January, the Ministry of Justice issued a call for evidence as part of its consultation on revising the Act’s code of practice. In its response, published this week, the Bar Council says the code, while ‘very impressive in its clear, user-friendly language’, is ‘overdue an update’.

It says the code does not cover covert medication despite recent case law clarifying that this is a serious interference with an individual’s right to respect for private life under Article 8. The Bar Council also calls for the code to include a chapter on human rights, and brands the current chapter on protections for individuals as ‘out of date’.