Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016

Effect of code

289.—(1) A person acting in any of the ways mentioned in subsection (2) in relation to a person who is 16 or over and lacks capacity must have regard to any relevant code of practice.

(2) The ways of acting are—

(a) in a professional capacity;

(b) for remuneration;

(c) as an independent mental capacity advocate;

(d) as an attorney under a lasting power of attorney or an enduring power of attorney;

(e) as a deputy appointed by the court;

(f) as a person carrying out research in reliance on any provision made by or under this Act (see Part 8).

(3) If it appears to a court or tribunal conducting any criminal or civil proceedings that—

(a) a provision of a code of practice, or

(b) a failure to comply with a code of practice,

is relevant to a question arising in the proceedings, the provision or failure must be taken into account in deciding the question.

(4) In this section “code of practice” means a code of practice under section 288.