Skip to content
Home » Supreme Court

Supreme Court

Man in electric wheelchair looking out to the sea

Reflections on the June 2026 Supreme Court ruling: What is valid subjective consent?

On 2nd June 2026, the Supreme Court made a landmark ruling (AGNI) that sent shockwaves through the health and care profession as it overturned a famous – and critical – piece of case law known by many as Cheshire West.

While the full impact and ramifications of this ruling are still to be felt across the sector, in this blog we would like to dwell on one particularly interesting concept that emerged: the notion of subjective consent.

Read More »Reflections on the June 2026 Supreme Court ruling: What is valid subjective consent?
Older woman sat in wheelchair looking down an empty road

Cheshire West overturned: Supreme Court Ruling

On the 2nd June 2026, a significant Supreme Court Ruling determined, with immediate effect, that Cheshire West v P (2014) UKSC 19 was overturned. In its simplest form the key parts of the ruling states:

  • The Acid Test, formed in Cheshire West, which identifies the threshold for when a Deprivation of Liberty (article 5, ECHR) is present, is no longer to be applied. Returning to rely on Guzzardi v Italy (1981) 3 EHRR 333.
  • In the circumstances where a person lacks capacity for their care and treatment, they can give ‘subjective consent’, or what we might describe as implied consent through compliance. Thus, no Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) would be needed in these circumstances.
Read More »Cheshire West overturned: Supreme Court Ruling