Regime of the Most Accompanied – What is it?

Entry into force of the new regime resulted in a radical paradigm shift

Under the law, in general, any citizen upon reaching the age of majority, that is, upon completing 18 years of age, is able to personally and freely exercise their rights, fulfill their obligations and take care of their assets, without needing help from other.

However, there are exceptions, that is, people who, regardless of age, are not able to exercise these rights or fulfill their obligations.

In 1966, with the approval of the Civil Code, Portuguese legislation established the interdiction and disqualification regimes, which, when enacted, had a definitive character.

These were intended to ensure the protection of citizens who proved incapable of taking care of their own lives, that is, of taking care of themselves and their heritage. The causes of this incapacity, expressly provided for in the law, could be psychic anomaly, deafness-muteness, blindness and all those who, due to their usual profligacy, the use of alcoholic beverages or narcotics, proved incapable of governing their patrimony.

To citizens subject to these regimes, as soon as the ban was decreed, the legal regime for minors was applied.

In this way, the possibility of deciding any aspect of their life was taken away from them, even the exercise of rights of a personal nature, such as getting married, having children, voting, adopting or testing.

With the entry into force of the law that regulates the regime of the accompanied major, the figures of interdiction and disqualification were eliminated from our legal system, which resulted in a radical change of paradigm.

Thus, the regime of the accompanied adult is approved, which is intended for all people who are unable, autonomously and consciously, to freely exercise their rights, fulfill their obligations and take care of their assets.

This regime is intended to preserve the person's autonomy and even increase it, ensuring their well-being and recovery, as well as the full exercise of all their rights and the fulfillment of their duties.

The regime of the accompanied adult can be requested by the person, the spouse, the de facto partner or any suitable relative, provided that authorization has been granted for this purpose. In the absence of authorization, it can only be requested by the Public Ministry.

In this new regime, monitoring may not be definitive, that is, it may cease or be modified, through a court decision that recognizes the need to alter/eliminate the causes that justified it.

Additionally, the judge discriminates, in the sentence, the acts that the accompanied can or cannot perform freely. That is, the person accompanied can and must continue to practice, autonomously, all the acts that the judge considers can be performed by him.

This paradigm shift is intended to avoid the stigma associated with interdiction and disqualification processes and ensure that people with reduced capacity effectively see their rights assured.

 

Author: Natércia Reiga is a solicitor and enforcement agent

Note: Article published under the partnership between the Sul Informação and the Order of Solicitors and Enforcement Agents

 



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