Emergency protection

Under exceptional circumstances, the following means are used to protect a vulnerable person.

Judicial mandate

A judicial mandate is not a permanent alternative to the instituting of protective supervision. However, it may be useful pending the opening of protective supervision or homologation of a mandate, or to enable a specific transaction (e.g. sale of real estate) to proceed.

Civil Code: Judicial Mandate ( article 399) and Rights and powers arising out of the matrimonial regime (article 444)

The court may authorize a spouse to execute alone an act for which the consent of the incapacitated spouse would normally be required (e.g. sale of a vehicle or real estate). This special, temporary recourse is known as a judicial mandate. Only the court has the authority to grant such a mandate for the purpose of resolving a deadlock, or to amend or revoke it.

The court may also authorize the other spouse to administer the property administered by the incapacitated spouse under the matrimonial regime.

Management of the business of another

Management of the business of another is only used in emergencies and exceptional circumstances. It is not an authorization granted by a court proceeding or government body but simply a general principle of law allowing steps to be taken as and when required to preserve the property of a person who is unable to intervene. The expenses involved are reimbursed out of the property owner's patrimony.

Anyone may use management of the business of another: this includes personnel from the health network and the Curateur public, if it is informed by health personnel of the need to institute protective supervision.

Examples

Management of the business of another may be invoked in the following situations:

A person of full age having flood damage repaired while their parents are on vacation.
A man having his neighbour's roof repaired after the roof has been damaged by a fire in his own house, while the neighbour is in hospital;
A tenant paying someone to clear the snow from the stairways of a triplex whose owner he assumes is incapacitated, in order to eliminate the risk of snow or ice related accidents.