Mental Capacity Act 2005 (England and Wales)
Definition
Statute governing capacity for consent to treatment and other decisions (not testamentary capacity). Requires a person to understand, retain, weigh, and communicate a decision. Creates a presumption of capacity. The equivalent in India for mental health treatment decisions is the Mental Healthcare Act 2017.
- Jurisdiction
- England and Wales
- Key principle
- Presumption of capacity (everyone is assumed capable unless shown otherwise)
- Indian equivalent
- Mental Healthcare Act 2017 (for mental health treatment decisions)
Common questions
What does the Mental Capacity Act 2005 actually measure?+
It sets out a functional test for mental capacity based on four abilities: understanding decision-relevant information, retaining it, weighing it, and communicating the decision. The law assumes everyone has capacity unless proven otherwise.
Does this law cover whether someone can make a will?+
No. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 governs capacity for medical treatment and other decisions. Testamentary capacity (the ability to make a valid will) is handled under separate rules.
What happens if someone is found to lack capacity under the Act?+
Decisions on their behalf are made using a best-interests framework. This means the decision-maker must act in what they believe serves the person's best interests, taking into account their values and preferences.
Related terms
- Banks V. Goodfellow (1870)
- English common-law case establishing the four-element test for testamentary capacity: the testator must understand the nature of making a will, the extent...
- BNS § 22 / IPC § 84
- India's statutory insanity defence: nothing is an offence done by a person who, by reason of unsoundness of mind at the time...
- Durham Rule (1954)
- The insanity-defence standard from Durham v. United States (1954) 214 F.2d 862 (DC Circuit): an accused is not responsible if the unlawful...
- Fitness to Stand Trial
- The capacity to participate meaningfully in criminal proceedings: understanding the nature of the charges, following the evidence, and instructing counsel. In England...
- Functional Capacity Assessment
- Assessment of capacity in relation to a specific decision, at a specific time, requiring evaluation of whether the person can understand, retain,...
- Golden Rule (Probate)
- English probate practice guidance from Kenward v. Adams (1975) requiring solicitors taking instructions from an elderly or seriously ill testator to arrange...
- Hindu Marriage Act 1955 § 12
- Provision making a marriage voidable (rather than void) where the consent of a party was not free consent because of unsoundness of...
- Indian Contract Act 1872 § 11-12
- Provisions establishing that sound mind for contracting requires capacity to understand the contract and form a rational judgement as to its effect;...
- Insane Delusion
- Under the Banks test, a false belief from which the testator cannot be argued, which causes them to dispose of their property...
- MacCAT-T
- MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool-Treatment; a structured instrument assessing capacity to consent to medical treatment using four domains: understanding, appreciation, reasoning, and expressing...
- M'Naghten Rules (1843)
- The insanity-defence standard from (1843) 8 Eng Rep 718, formulated by the House of Lords in response to the acquittal of Daniel...
- MPC Substantial-Capacity Test
- The insanity-defence standard from the Model Penal Code (ALI, 1962) § 4.01: not responsible if, as a result of mental disease or...
Explained in these topics
- Civil Capacity: Testamentary, Marriage and ContractStatute establishing the presumption of capacity, the functional test for incapacity (inability to understand, retain, use or weigh, or communicate decision-re...
- Forensic Psychiatry: Insanity Defence and CapacityStatute governing capacity for consent to treatment and other decisions (not testamentary capacity). Requires a person to understand, retain, weigh, and commun...