Report No. 196

The parties

6. The applicants may be either the next of kin or the relevant area health authority/NHS Trust (which in any event ought to be a party). The views of the next of kin are very important and should be made known to the court in every case.

7. The Official Solicitor should be invited to act as guardian ad litem of the patient, who will inevitably be a patient within the meaning of RSC Ord 80.