Capacity and self-determination law

About the consultation

​A person’s capacity to make some decisions may be impaired for a variety of reasons, such as:

• having significant learning difficulties
• mental health problems
• suffering a stroke or head injuries
• the onset of dementia

At the moment, there is no capacity legislation in Jersey. 

The purpose of the capacity and self-determination law will be to safeguard the dignity and wellbeing of people who may not have the capacity to make decisions for themselves, as well as providing for those who have not yet lost capacity, allowing them to plan for the future.  

The new legal framework would potentially apply to:

• d​ecisions about how a person will be cared for and the medical treatment they will receive
• day-to-day decisions about how people live their lives and manage their finances  

​You can find out more about the content of the new law in the documents below.

Download a summary of the new capacity and self-determination law (size 181kb)

Download Capacity and Self-Determination Law (Jersey) 20- with full explanatory notes (size 1.03m​b)

Public meeting dates

​A series of public meetings are taking place to provide an introduction to the proposed draft law.

How to submit comments to the consultation

​You can submit your comments by email, by writing or via SurveyMonkey.

You should send your comments to:

Capacity and Self-Determination Law Responses c/o Louise Journeaux
4th Floor
Peter Crill House
The General Hospital
Gloucester Street
St Helier
JE1 3QS

Capacity and Self-Determination Law on SurveyMon​key website

Email Health Departm​ent

Responses to the consultation

​A report on the findings of the Capacity and Self-Determination Law from the Department for Health and Social Services was published on 2 August 2016.

Read the Consultation Report for the Capacity and Self-Determination Law (85kb)