Part 1Persons who lack capacity
Preliminary
I13Inability to make decisions
1
For the purposes of section 2, a person is unable to make a decision for himself if he is unable—
a
to understand the information relevant to the decision,
b
to retain that information,
c
to use or weigh that information as part of the process of making the decision, or
d
to communicate his decision (whether by talking, using sign language or any other means).
2
A person is not to be regarded as unable to understand the information relevant to a decision if he is able to understand an explanation of it given to him in a way that is appropriate to his circumstances (using simple language, visual aids or any other means).
3
The fact that a person is able to retain the information relevant to a decision for a short period only does not prevent him from being regarded as able to make the decision.
4
The information relevant to a decision includes information about the reasonably foreseeable consequences of—
a
deciding one way or another, or
b
failing to make the decision.