Part 1Persons who lack capacity
Miscellaneous and supplementary
42Codes of practice
1
The Lord Chancellor must prepare and issue one or more codes of practice—
a
for the guidance of persons assessing whether a person has capacity in relation to any matter,
b
for the guidance of persons acting in connection with the care or treatment of another person (see section 5),
c
for the guidance of donees of lasting powers of attorney,
d
for the guidance of deputies appointed by the court,
e
for the guidance of persons carrying out research in reliance on any provision made by or under this Act (and otherwise with respect to sections 30 to 34),
f
for the guidance of independent mental capacity advocates,
g
with respect to the provisions of sections 24 to 26 (advance decisions and apparent advance decisions), and
h
with respect to such other matters concerned with this Act as he thinks fit.
2
The Lord Chancellor may from time to time revise a code.
3
The Lord Chancellor may delegate the preparation or revision of the whole or any part of a code so far as he considers expedient.
4
It is the duty of a person to have regard to any relevant code if he is acting in relation to a person who lacks capacity and is doing so in one or more of the following ways—
a
as the donee of a lasting power of attorney,
b
as a deputy appointed by the court,
c
as a person carrying out research in reliance on any provision made by or under this Act (see sections 30 to 34),
d
as an independent mental capacity advocate,
e
in a professional capacity,
f
for remuneration.
5
If it appears to a court or tribunal conducting any criminal or civil proceedings that—
a
a provision of a code, or
b
a failure to comply with a code,
is relevant to a question arising in the proceedings, the provision or failure must be taken into account in deciding the question.
6
A code under subsection (1)(d) may contain separate guidance for deputies appointed by virtue of paragraph 1(2) of Schedule 5 (functions of deputy conferred on receiver appointed under the Mental Health Act).
7
In this section and in section 43, “code” means a code prepared or revised under this section.