Seattle University Collaborative Projects - International Academy of ...

standards which have (or will be) put into place protect vulnerable elders, such as elders with areduced capacity to understand complex legal documents. It will be argued that public authoritiesin the United States have been proactive (at least in relation to HECM mortgages) relying on awide variety of measures: legislative intervention (such as changes to the Housing EconomicRecovery Act 2008); mandatory counseling; and insurance back-up. In Australia, so far theFederal government has been content to regulate legislatively certain aspects of reversemortgages such as what provisions may or may not be included in the mortgage; and whenenforcement procedures may be taken. Notwithstanding increasing government intervention, itwill be argued that there are still dangers for seniors in both jurisdictions.International Comparison of Legal Frameworks for Substitute Decision MakingGavin Davidson, Queen's University Belfast (g.davidson@qub.ac.uk)Lisa Brophy, University of Melbourne (Lbrophy@unimbelb.edu.au)Jim Campbell, Goldsmiths, University of London (j.campbell@gold.ac.uk)Ann-Marie O’Brien, Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre (anne-marie.o’brien@theroyal.ca)In this presentation four legal frameworks for substitute decision making for people whosedecision making capacity is impaired will be reviewed and compared. The four jurisdictions thatwill be examined are Ontario, Canada; Victoria, Australia; England and Wales; and NorthernIreland. Some of the key areas of discussion will be the assessment of mental capacity and theinterface between mental capacity and mental health law. Ontario has developed a relativelycomprehensive, progressive and influential legal framework over the past thirty years (Bartlett,2001) but there are some issues about the standardisation of mental capacity assessments andhow the laws work together. In Australia, the Victorian Law Reform Commission (2012) hasrecommended that the six different types of substitute decision making under the three laws inthat jurisdiction need to be integrated and simplified. In England and Wales the Mental CapacityAct 2005 also has a complex interface with mental health law. In Northern Ireland it is proposedto introduce a new Mental Capacity (Health, Welfare and Finance) Bill that will provide aunified structure for all substitute decision making. The presentation will identify key strengthsand limitations of the approaches in each jurisdiction and propose possible ways that furtherprogress can be made in law, policy and practice.21. Capacity, Incapacity, and Impaired Decision Making – TheChallenges of Providing Support and Protection in the ScottishContext56