Protected party

Formerly referred to as a "patient". As defined in the Mental Capacity Act 2005, someone who lacks capacity in relation to a matter. This will be the case where the person is unable to make a decision for himself in relation to the matter because of an impairment of, or a disturbance in, the functioning of the mind or brain (section 2(1), Mental Capacity Act 2005). Under the Civil Procedure Rules and Family Procedure Rules a protected party must have a litigation friend to conduct proceedings on his behalf.