Emma Sutton puts the case for the benefits of early settlement in the Court of Protection
- Delays in listing a case can cause matters to ‘fester’ and the issues in dispute to significantly (and unnecessarily) increase.
The Court of Protection continues to experience a substantial increase in the volume of applications made. Remarkably, between January and March 2018, 8,089 applications and 10,262 orders were made which was the highest quarterly volume seen since the recording of such statistics began.
Unless a case is urgent, parties will often have to wait a significant time for a listing. Although delays clearly reflect the reality of the pressures on the system, there are emotional costs in addition to the financial implications of litigation. In the writer’s experience, delays in listing a case can cause matters to ‘fester’ and the issues in dispute to significantly (and unnecessarily) increase.
Mediation should be at the heart of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, yet it is noticeably underused. Under the Act and the Court of Protection Rules 2017 (the rules), mediation cannot be ‘imposed’; however, the court
