EU Ministers for Justice are expected to adopt the EU Council’s Conclusions on the Protection of Vulnerable Adults across the European Union on Monday, 7 June (see EUROPE 12647/9). Few surprises are expected, as the text has already been the subject of an informal agreement following a silence procedure.
The draft text emphasises that further work should be carried out in order to strengthen the protection of vulnerable adults in both civil and criminal law matters.
It points out, “The COVID-19 pandemic crisis affects all of society, with a particular impact on those adults who were already vulnerable”.
As in an earlier version of the text (see EUROPE 12695/11), the draft conclusions call on Member States to initiate or accelerate procedures for signing or ratifying the 2000 Hague Convention—which provides for the protection in international situations of adults who, by reason of an impairment or insufficiency of their personal faculties, are not in a position to protect their interests—“as soon as possible”.
In addition, the EU Council invites the European Commission to “conduct a thorough study aimed at carefully reflecting on and assessing how the European Union could further strengthen the protection of vulnerable adults in cross-border situations” but does not give a deadline, unlike the previous draft.
The text also asks the European Commission to consider the possible need for a legal framework within the EU to facilitate the free circulation of judicial decisions on the protection of vulnerable adults in civil matters and to present the results of the study—accompanied, if necessary, by legislative proposals—to the EU co-legislators.
With regard to criminal law issues, the European Commission is notably invited to examine the need to strengthen the procedural safeguards for vulnerable adults who are suspects or accused persons in criminal proceedings as well as to reflect on the need to define uniform and common criteria for identifying vulnerable adults in criminal proceedings.
See the text: https://bit.ly/3ilab1M (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)