About The Capacity and Self-Determination (Jersey) Law
The Capacity and Self-Determination (Jersey) Law came into force on Monday 1 October 2018. It's an important piece of legislation that introduces legal principles and safeguards relating to decisions made by you, and on your behalf if you lack capacity to make decisions for yourself.
It also allows you to make future plans for a time when you may lack capacity to make decisions for yourself and protects you by ensuring you are at the heart of decision-making about your life.
The law maximises your participation in any decisions made on your behalf, with such decisions made in your best interests.
The law assumes that all people aged 16 and over have capacity to make decisions for themselves. Being able to make your own decisions is what is meant by self-determination.
Principles of capacity law
There are 5 core principles in the law that everyone must use.
These are often referred to as:
- assumption of capacity
- practicable steps
- unwise decisions
- best interests
- less restrictive way
- a person, aged 16 and over, must be assumed to have capacity, unless it is shown that the person lacks capacity in relation to the decision
- a person in not to be treated as unable to make a decision unless all practicable steps to enable that person to make the decision have been taken without success
- a person is not to be treated as unable to make a decision merely because the person makes an unwise decision
- an act done, or a decision made, on behalf of a person lacking capacity must be done or made in the person’s best interests
- before an act is done, or a decision is made which is restrictive of the person’s rights and freedom of action, regard must be had to whether the purpose for the which it is needed can be achieved as effectively in a less restrictive way
The law is supported by practical guidance and this Code of Practice is an essential part of this. It explains how to use the law on a day-to-day basis for professionals and public alike.
gov.je