What is special guardianship?
Special guardianship is a measure that applies to an adult who cannot take care of his own interests due to total, permanent impairment of mental faculties and needs to be continuously represented in the exercise of his rights and freedoms. Minors with limited exercise capacity can also benefit from special guardianship.
Who can request the institution of special guardianship?
This measure can be requested by the one who needs protection, by his spouse or relatives, by the person who lives with him, as well as by public institutions or authorities (courts, the community public service for records of persons, the public notary).
How is this procedure carried out?
Cases concerning the establishment of special guardianship are the competence of the guardianship court, respectively the court, in whose district the person to be placed under protection resides.
The application for the establishment of special guardianship must comply with the form provided by art. 194 Code proc . civ., respectively the form of a summons request in which the facts resulting from the deterioration of the mental faculties will be indicated, as well as the evidence for this purpose. The request must also include data on the family, social and patrimonial status of the person who will be placed under protection, as well as medical documents on the state of health.
Requests for special guardianship are judged urgently and with priority. During the trial, the person to be placed under protection must be represented by a lawyer chosen or appointed ex officio by the court.
To complete the judicial investigation, in addition to the documents submitted by the applicant, the Public Ministry, ex officio, will order a social investigation report by the guardianship authority, as well as two evaluations: one medical (psychiatric) and one psychological.
Both the social investigation and the two evaluations are absolutely necessary for the settlement of the case, and their absence may lead to the suspension of the case.
For what period can special guardianship be instituted and what effects does this measure have?
According to the law, the measure of special guardianship can be ordered for a period that cannot exceed 5 years, and as an exception, in the situation where the damage to the mental faculties of the protected person is permanent, the court can order the extension of the measure for a period that cannot exceed 15 years.
The effects of the special guardianship refer both to the protection of the person and his assets, so the decision to establish the special guardianship will specify the categories of acts that the guardian can do on behalf of the protected person, if they were requested through the application for institution of guardianship.
What does the placing under prohibition review mean?
The persons who have a decision by which the measure of placing under prohibition under the empire of the old law was instituted, must be re-examined ex officio by the courts to set a new measure of protection in accordance with the current legislation.
In this sense, the persons appointed as guardians will be summoned to the court to re-examine the measure of prohibition and pronounce a new decision by which the old measure will be replaced by the measure of special guardianship, or the protection measure will be ceased if it is no longer necessary. Also, during the re-examination, it is necessary to carry out the social investigation at the home of the protected person, as well as the two evaluations: psychological and medical.
