Section 6 — Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988: Jurisdiction of Court under this Part

6 Jurisdiction of Court under this Part (1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, a Court shall have jurisdiction under this Part of this Act in respect of any person who is ordinarily resident in New Zealand and who— (a) Lacks, wholly or partly, the capacity to understand the nature, and to foresee the consequences, of decisions in respect of matters relating to his or her personal care and welfare; or (b) Has the capacity to understand the nature, and to foresee the consequences, of decisions in respect of matters relating to his or her personal care and welfare, but wholly lacks the capacity to communicate decisions in respect of such matters. (2) Subject to section 12(3) , no Court has jurisdiction under this Part in respect of a person who has not attained the age of 18 years and who— (a) is not, and never has been, married or in a civil union; or (b) is 16 years old or older and is not living, and never has lived, with another person as a de facto partner (3) The fact that the person in respect of whom the application is made for the exercise of the Court's jurisdiction has made or is intending to make any decision that a person exercising ordinary prudence would not have made or would not make given the same circumstances is not in itself sufficient ground for the exercise of that jurisdiction by the Court. Subsection (2) was amended, as from 26 April 2005, by section 7 Relationships (Statutory References) Act 2005 (2005 No 3) by inserting the words “ in a civil union, or in a de facto relationship ” . Subsection (2) was substituted, as from 1 July 2005, by section 151 Care of Children Act 2004 (2004 No 90).