Report No. 196

The Court of Appeal, in relation to para 81 of the Guidance observed as follows:

"This is the only paragraph to which the Judge has taken exception that deals expressly with ANH. The first sentence requires the doctor to comply with the expressed wishes of a patient with capacity. No exception can be taken to this. The remainder deals with the approach to be taken where the patients lack capacity to decide for themselves and their wishes cannot be determined. We cannot see that this has any relevance to Mr. Burke's predicament"

For the above reasons, the Court of Appeal did not consider that insofar as the Guidance related to Mr. Burke, there was any ground for declaring them unlawful.

The Court of Appeal then identified certain topics from Justice Munby's judgment which required some elucidation of law:

(i) The right of a patient to select the treatment that he will receive;

(ii) The circumstances in which life-prolonging treatment can be withdrawn from a patient who is incompetent;

(iii) The duty to seek the approval of Court before withdrawing lifeprolonging treatment.