{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/mental-capacity-act-northern-ireland-2016/section-6",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/mental-capacity-act-northern-ireland-2016/section-6.json",
  "legislation": "nia/2016/18",
  "legislation_title": "Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/mental-capacity-act-northern-ireland-2016",
  "path": "section/6",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "6",
  "heading": "Compliance with section 1(2)",
  "text": "(1) In proceedings under this Act or any other statutory provision, any question whether a person who is 16 or over lacks capacity in relation to a matter (within the meaning of this Act) is to be decided on the balance of probabilities.\n(2) Subsection (3) applies where, other than in such proceedings, it falls to a person to determine for any purpose of this Act whether another person who is 16 or over (“P”) lacks capacity in relation to a matter.\n(3) If—\n(a) the person making the determination has taken reasonable steps to establish whether P lacks capacity in relation to the matter,\n(b) the person reasonably believes that P lacks capacity in relation to the matter, and\n(c) the principles in section 1(3) to (5) and section 5 have been complied with,\nfor the purposes of section 1(2) the person is to be taken to have sufficiently “established” that P lacks capacity in relation to the matter.\n(4) In this section “proceedings” includes proceedings before a tribunal and proceedings of any panel constituted under Schedule 1 or 3.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "S. 6 in operation at 1.10.2019 for specified purposes by S.R. 2019/163, art. 2(1), Sch. Pt. 1 (with art. 3) (as amended by S.R. 2019/190, art. 2)"
    },
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I2",
      "text": "S. 6 in operation at 2.12.2019 for specified purposes by S.R. 2019/163, art. 2(3), Sch. Pt. 3 (as amended by S.R. 2019/190, art. 2)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nia/2016/18/section/6",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T20:19:54.781348+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}