Evidence and causation in mental capacity assessments PC v City of York Council [2013] EWCA CIV 478

McFarlane LJ's leading judgment in PC v City of York Council consistently stresses the 'plain' statutory language of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. In doing so, it reveals how intractably difficult performing an assessment in accord with the Act can sometimes be. In particular, it raises questions about the sources of evidence upon which a finding of incapacity can be based, illustrates that causation under the Act may have been widely neglected, and highlights contestable assumptions that underlie the Act's 'decision-specific' approach to assessment.