KIE: The Family Division of the British High Court of Justice held that where a mentally ill person's general capacity fails to show that he is incapable of understanding the nature, purpose and effects of an advised life-saving treatment, the right to refuse or consent to medical treatment is not displaced. A patient diagnosed as a chronic, paranoid schizophrenic was permitted by the court to refuse to allow his gangrenous foot to be amputated. The court determined that individuals are entitled to seek a judicial determination regarding their capability to make decisions about their medical treatment and declared that if the person is found to be capable, such intentions may be found to constitute an advance directive for future medical treatment.