{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/mental-capacity-act-northern-ireland-2016/section-63",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/mental-capacity-act-northern-ireland-2016/section-63.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/63",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "63",
  "heading": "“Serious intervention”",
  "text": "(1) In this Part “serious intervention” means an intervention in connection with the care, treatment or personal welfare of P which (or any part of which)—\n(a) consists of or involves major surgery;\n(b) causes P serious pain, serious distress, or serious side-effects;\n(c) affects seriously the options that will be available to P in the future, or has a serious impact on P's day-to-day life; or\n(d) in any other way has serious consequences for P, whether physical or non-physical.\n(2) Without prejudice to subsection (1), and to avoid any doubt, each of the following is a serious intervention for the purposes of this Part—\n(a) any deprivation of liberty;\n(b) the imposition of a requirement mentioned in section 28(1)(a) (requirements to attend at particular times or intervals for certain treatment);\n(c) the imposition of a community residence requirement (see section 31).\n(3) Regulations may provide that a prescribed intervention (except one mentioned in subsection (2))—\n(a) is to be regarded as an intervention falling within a particular paragraph of subsection (1); or\n(b) is not to be regarded as such an intervention.\n(4) If—\n(a) the act mentioned in section 9(1) is, or is part of, an intervention which turns out to be a serious intervention, but\n(b) at the time the act is done D reasonably believes that the risk that the intervention will turn out to be a serious intervention is negligible,\nthat act is to be treated for the purposes of this Part as if the intervention were not a serious intervention.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "S. 63(2)(a) in operation at 2.12.2019 for specified purposes by S.R. 2019/163, art. 2(4), Sch. Pt. 4 (with art. 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/63",
    "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."
}