Proposal for cross-border protection of vulnerable adults

The European Commission recently published a proposal for new regulations to protect vulnerable adults in cross-border situations, such as those involving a move to another EU country. This specifically applies to adults who, due to legal incapacity, are unable to represent their own interests.

The new regulations include a regulation regulating cross-border cases for the protection of adults between EU countries. The regulation stipulates which court has jurisdiction, which law applies, the conditions under which foreign measures apply, and how authorities can cooperate. It also establishes procedures for determining which person or authority can support and represent the adult in question. The drafting of a living will and its recognition in cross-border cases is also part of the regulation.

Uniform legal framework
Another element of the legislation is a Council of the EU decision establishing a uniform legal framework for the protection of adults involving non-EU countries. It obliges all EU Member States to become or remain parties to the 2000 Convention on the Protection of Adults, known as the HCCH 2000 Convention.

The Netherlands
The proposal aligns well with the Royal Dutch Association of Civil-Law Notaries' (KNB) commitment to increasing access to justice for all . The new rules are therefore a step in the right direction toward achieving uniform, cross-border protection for vulnerable adults and can help civil-law notaries by providing legal certainty, including regarding which law applies. In addition to the recent initiative with Steffie.nl , the KNB is also working at the European level to jointly safeguard the social position of civil-law notaries with our partner countries in the CNUE. For this reason, the KNB will closely monitor this legislative process.