This provision sets out the Act’s short title and defines key terms used throughout the Mental Capacity Act 2008.
Mental Capacity Act 2008 2020 REVISED EDITION This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021 An Act to make new provision relating to persons who lack capacity and to provide for matters connected therewith. [1 March 2010: Except sections 13(9) and 26(l) ] PART 1 PRELIMINARY Short title 1. This Act is the Mental Capacity Act 2008. Interpretation 2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires — “appropriate consent” has the meaning given by the Human Biomedical Research Act 2015; “clinical trial” means a clinical trial within the meaning of the Medicines Act 1975 or the Health Products Act 2007; “court” means the General Division of the High Court or a Family Court; “deputy” means a person appointed by the court under section 20(2)(b) to make decisions on behalf of another person (“P”) in relation to a matter or matters concerning all or any of the following in respect of which P lacks capacity: (a) P’s personal welfare; (b) P’s property and affairs; [Act 16 of 2021 wef 14/11/2022] “donee” means a person who is conferred authority by a donor (“P”) under a lasting power of attorney to make decisions about all or any of the following when P no longer has capacity to make such decisions: (a) P’s personal welfare, or matters concerning P’s personal welfare that are specified in the lasting power of attorney; (b) P’s property and affairs, or matters concerning P’s property and affairs that are specified in the lasting power of attorney; [Act 16 of 2021 wef 14/11/2022] “donor” means a person (“P”) who confers authority on a donee (or donees) under a lasting power of attorney to make decisions about all or any of the following when P no longer has capacity to make those decisions: (a) P’s personal welfare, or matters concerning P’s personal welfare that are specified in the lasting power of attorney; (b) P’s property and affairs, or matters concerning P’s property and affairs that are specified in the lasting power of attorney; [Act 16 of 2021 wef 14/11/2022] “electronic”, “electronic record”, “record”, “secure electronic signature”, “signed” and “signature” have the meanings given by section 2(1) of the Electronic Transactions Act 2010*; [Act 16 of 2021 wef 14/11/2022] “electronic instrument” means an electronic record that confers authority of the kind mentioned in section 11(1); [Act 16 of 2021 wef 14/11/2022] “electronic transaction system” means the electronic transaction system established by the Public Guardian under section 10B(1); [Act 16 of 2021 wef 14/11/2022] “lasting power of attorney” has the meaning given by section 11; “life-sustaining treatment”, in relation to a person, means treatment which, in the view of another person providing health care for that person, is necessary to sustain life; “non-electronic lasting power of attorney” means a lasting power of attorney that is created using non-electronic means; [Act 16 of 2021 wef 14/11/2022] “professional deputy” means a person — (a) who offers or provides the services of a deputy for remuneration; and (b) who is registered with the Public Guardian as a professional deputy; “professional donee” means a person — (a) who is a professional deputy or is within a class of persons prescribed as qualified to be a professional donee; and (b) who offers or provides the services of a donee for remuneration; “property” includes any thing in action and any interest in real or personal property; “Public Guardian” means the Public Guardian appointed under section 30(1) and, unless the context otherwise requires, includes any Assistant Public Guardian appointed under section 30(1A); “registered medical practitioner” means any person who is registered as a medical practitioner under the Medical Registration Act 1997; “Singapore public sector agency” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018; [Act 16 of 2021 wef 01/04/2023] “treatment” includes a diagnostic or other procedure; “will” includes codicil. [*Updated to be consistent with the 2020 Revised Edition] [27/2014; 29/2015; 10/2016; 40/2019] (2) In this Act, references to making decisions, in relation to a donee of a lasting power of attorney or a deputy appointed by the court, include, where appropriate, acting on decisions made. (3) For the purposes of this Act, a reference to an instrument that confers authority of the kind mentioned in section 11(1) includes an electronic instrument made in accordance with section 11(2)(b)(ii). [Act 16 of 2021 wef 14/11/2022]