As part of the review process, all current adult wards will have:
- an opportunity to be heard by the wardship court when their cases are being reviewed
- access to representation and legal aid
If the wardship court declares that the ward lacks capacity to make certain decisions, this declaration will be kept under review by the Circuit Court.
Each review includes an assessment of the ward’s capacity in line with the guiding principles that the court will apply. You can find out more at the link guiding principles. These guiding principles include a presumption of capacity and respect for a person’s will and preferences rather than a best interests standard. You can find out more about these guiding principles.
The wardship court will apply a functional assessment of capacity. This means that the wardship court will assess a ward’s ability to take specific decisions, rather than making an overall finding.
Find out more about the functional approach to assessing capacity.