# Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016, Section 3: Meaning of “lacks capacity”


(1) For the purposes of this Act, a person who is 16 or over lacks capacity in relation to a matter if, at the material time, the person is unable to make a decision for himself or herself about the matter (within the meaning given by section 4) because of an impairment of, or a disturbance in the functioning of, the mind or brain.
(2) It does not matter—
(a) whether the impairment or disturbance is permanent or temporary;
(b) what the cause of the impairment or disturbance is.
(3) In particular, it does not matter whether the impairment or disturbance is caused by a disorder or disability or otherwise than by a disorder or disability.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nia/2016/18/section/3 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/mental-capacity-act-northern-ireland-2016/section-3
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.