Competence in children has a Scottish twist

doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7547.975

BMJ 2006;332:975 (22 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7547.975

Letter

Competence in children has a Scottish twist

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—The article by Wheeler on Gillick provided an interestingcomparison of the Gillick and Fraser tests.¹ However, the piecegives the impression that it was written to address the lawas it is in the United Kingdom: "In Britain people describethe assessment of competence" (first paragraph), and "In UKlaw a person's 18th birthday draws the line between childhoodand adulthood" (third paragraph). Also, it makes referencesto what is English/Welsh legislation.^{2 3} In so doing, it failsto give recognition to the different approach under Scots law.

As Gillick was decided ultimately in the House of Lords,⁴ itsauthority extends to Scotland as well as to other parts of theUK. However, Scots law has gone beyond Gillick with the enactmentin 1991 of the Age of Legal Capacity (Scotland) Act (the "ScottishAct"). Since parliamentary legislation is superior to commonlaw, it is the terms of . . . [Full text of this article]

Mark J Sterrick, medical officer

Glencorse Barracks, Milton Bridge, Penicuik, Mid Lothian EH26 0ND mark@star886.fsnet.co.uk