ABSTRACT
The right of a mentally competent adult to refuse medical or any other interven tion is enshrined in UK common law and reinforced by the Mental Capacity Act 20051 and the Human Rights Act 1998. The latter incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic law and the former codifi es and adds clarity to the previously somewhat confusing common law on mental incapacity. A person may refuse treatment for reasons which are ‘rational, irrational or for no reason’, and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 confi rms that a person should not be treated as lacking capacity because he or she makes a decision that others consider to be unwise. A doctor may be liable for assault or battery or for breach of article 8* of the Convention on Human Rights if they touch a person contrary to his or her wishes. If the person is mentally incapable, whether temporarily or permanently, the doctor has a duty to act in his or her best interests.
