Limited legal capacities
The limited
legal capacity of the child refers to the fact that a child is not yet entitled
by law to engage in legal activities and cannot be held liable for contractual
obligations. Children under 18 years of age may reach legal capacity at
different ages in regard to specific actions, for instance giving consent to
certain medical treatments or obtain voting rights in local elections. By
setting out specific statutory age limits or minimum ages, national law defines
case by case as of what age children are considered to exercise full legal
capacity in certain areas.
The guardian
has a duty to complement the limited legal capacity of the child. This means to
legally represent and assist the child in all actions where the child’s legal
capacity is limited by national law, in accordance with the age of the child.
The guardian is tasked to complement the child’s limited legal capacity in all
civil, administrative or judicial proceedings. In some legal proceedings, the
child will require in addition a professional lawyer to represent the
child.[1]
See also:
Centre: The child; The
guardian
Level 5: Mandate and tasks
of the guardian
References:
EU training and learning platform for guardians of
unaccompanied children Chapter 2, Session 2.1. Creating an effective relation between guardian and the child
Literature:
FRA (European Agency for Fundamental Rights) (2018), Age assessment and fingerprinting of children in asylum procedures,
Minimum age requirements concerning children’s rights in the EU, Luxembourg, Publications
Office of the European Union (Publications Office).
FRA (European Agency for Fundamental Rights) (2018),
Mapping minimum age requirements concerning the rights of the child in the EU, Luxembourg, Publications
Office of the European Union (Publications Office).
UN
Committee on the Rights of the Child (2005), General Comment No. 7,
Implementing child rights in early childhood, CRC/C/GC/7,
2005.
UN
Committee on the Rights of the Child (2016), General Comment No. 20 on the
implementation of the rights of the child during adolescents, CRC/C/GC/20,
2016.
[1] European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (2015), Guardianship systems for children deprived of parental care in the European Union, With a
particular focus on their role in responding to child trafficking, pp. 9-10.
