Dutch Civil Code

Book 1 Law of Persons and Family Law

Title 1.13 Infancy (minority of age)

Section 1.13.1 General provisions

Article 1:233 Minors
Minors are persons who have not yet reached the age of eighteen years and who are not married or registered as a partner in a registered partnership, nor have been married or registered as a partner in a registered partnership and who have not been declared of age pursuant to Article 1:253ha.

Article 1:234 Limited legal capacity of minors
- 1. As far as the law does not provide otherwise, a minor has the legal capacity to perform juridical acts in his own name, provided that he is acting by permission of his legal representative.
- 2. The minor’s legal representative may only grant his permission for a specific juridical act or for juridical acts within the framework of a well defined objective.
- 3. A minor is presumed to act by permission of his legal representative if he performs a juridical act with regard to which it is common practice that it is performed independently by minors of his age.

Section 1.13.2 Judicial emancipation of a minor

Article 1:235 Minor with full legal capacity to perform certain juridical acts
- 1. A minor who has reached the age of sixteen years may request the District Court to be emancipated, in the sense that certain legal powers of an adult are granted to him by court order.
- 2. Emancipation is not granted against the will of the parents if they exercise authority over the minor, with due observance, however, of Article 1:253a paragraph 1.
- 3. In the court order decreeing the emancipation the District Court explicitly specifies which legal powers of an adult are awarded to the minor. These powers may not extend further than the minor's full legal capacity to receive his entire income or a part of it and to dispose thereof, or to enter into lease agreements or farm lease agreements as a lessor, or to participate as a partner in a commercial partnership and to pursue a professional practice or business. The emancipation, however, cannot grant the minor full legal capacity to dispose of registered property, stock market securities or claims secured by a mortgage.
- 4. The minor may independently act as plaintiff or defendant in legal proceedings with regard to matters concerning the emancipation itself and with regard to juridical acts for which he has obtained full legal capacity pursuant to his emancipation. Article 1:12 paragraph 1 does not apply to those juridical acts.

Article 1:236 Revocation of a decreed emancipation by the court
- 1. A decreed emancipation may be revoked by the District Court when the minor abuses his emancipated status or when there is a well-substantiated fear that he might do so.
- 2. A revocation is ordered by the District Court upon the request of one of the parents of the minor, provided that they exercise authority over him and with due observance of Article 1:253a paragraph 1, or upon the request of the minor's legal guardian.

Article 1:237 Publication of the emancipation of a minor
- 1. A court order decreeing or revoking the emancipation of a minor shall be published in the Government Gazette and in two daily newspapers to be specified in that court order.
- 2. The publication must specify clearly which powers of an adult are awarded to the minor and for which purpose the emancipation is decreed. Prior to its publication neither the decreed emancipation nor its revocation shall have any effect against third persons who were unaware of it.

Section 1.13.3 The Child Protection Board

Article 1:238 Duties and powers of the Child Protection Board
- 1. There is one Child Protection Board.
- 2. The duties and powers of the Child Protection Board are set by law. These duties and powers are implemented by the Child Board Protection on behalf of our Minister of Justice.
- 3. In behalf of the performance of its duties the Board has to keep itself informed of the developments on the field of the protection of children, it has to promote the cooperation with institutions for the protection of children and juveniles and it shall advise, upon request or of its own motion, authorities and institutions.
- 4. The efforts of the Board have no influence on the religious or ideological principal of the institutions for the protection of children.
- 5. The seat, the working method where it concerns the cooperation with the Foundation meant in Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Youth Care Act, and the organisation of the Board are regulated by Order in Council.

Article 1:239 Power to act on behalf of minors and complaints procedure
- 1. The Child Protection Board may act on behalf of minors who have either their domicile or last domicile or their actual residence in the Netherlands. The Board may also act on behalf of Dutch minors who do not have their domicile or last domicile nor their actual residence in the Netherlands.
- 2. In behalf of minors who either have their domicile or last domicile or their actual residence within a certain court district, the working units within that district shall act for the Child Protection Board.
- 3. If on the basis of the preceding paragraph more working units in different districts would be responsible to act on behalf of the same minor, then the action of one of these working units shall end the authority of all others.
- 4. In behalf of Dutch minors who do not have their domicile or last domicile nor their actual residence in the Netherlands, the working units of the Board within the court district of Amsterdam shall act for the Child Protection Board.
- 5. The procedure for complaints about a case with regard to the protection of children that is or has been dealt with by the Child Protection Board, will be regulated by Order in Council.

Article 1:240 Setting aside a professional secret
Persons who, due to a statutory provision or because of their office or profession, are obliged to maintain secrecy may, without approval of the affected person, provide information to the Child Protection Board whenever this may be deemed necessary for the execution of the Board's responsibilities.

Article 1:241 Child protection remedies (custodial control and interim guardianship)
- 1. If the Child Protection Board becomes aware of the fact that a minor is not placed under the legally required authority or that such authority is not exercised over him, it shall request the court to provide for authority to be exercised over that minor.
- 2. Where this is urgently and immediately necessary to prevent serious danger to the moral or mental interests or health of such a minor, the Juvenile Court may charge a Foundation as meant in Article 1, under point (f), of the Youth Care Act, to exercise interim guardianship over the minor. In that event the Child Protection Board turns within six weeks to the court to obtain a provision for a custodial control remedy over the minor.
- 3. The interim measures meant in paragraph 2 may be taken as well if a minor, who has not yet reached the age of six months and who is not placed under guardianship of a legal person, has been taken in as a stepchild without the prior written consent of the Child Protection Board.
- 4. The Juvenile Court may order an interim guardianship as meant in the present Article upon the request of the Child Protection Board or the Public Prosecution Service. The Juvenile Court defines in its court order which powers over the minor as a person and over its property shall be awarded to the Foundation and the duration of the interim guardianship.
- 5. An interim guardianship shall lapse on the expiry of six weeks after the day on which the Juvenile Court has ordered it, unless a request has been filed within that period to provide for the exercise of authority over that minor. The Juvenile Court may set this period at a maximum of twelve weeks, however only on the ground that the request referred to in the first sentence shall meet the requirements of Article 278 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
- 6. An interim guardianship may be revoked or changed by the Juvenile Court that ordered it, unless a request as meant in paragraph 5 has been filed already. In that event, the court before which that request is pending, has jurisdiction on matters relating to interim guardianship.
- 7. In contradiction to paragraph 2, the court may order a legal person as meant in Article 302 paragraph 2 to exercise interim guardianship over a minor on whose behalf a petition has been filed for the issuance of a residence permit for a fixed term pursuant to Article 28 of the Aliens Act 2000 and who is staying in the Netherlands in expectation thereof or to exercise interim guardianship over other categories of minors pointed out for this purpose by the Minister of Justice.

Article 1:241a Article 1:243 applies accordingly to a Foundation exercising interim guardianship
Article 1:243 shall apply accordingly to an interim guardianship exercised by a Foundation as referred to in Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Youth Care Act.

Article 1:242 Duty of the Child Protection Board to keep itself informed
The Child Protection Board has to keep itself informed of all cases in which the institution of a custodial control remedy may be considered.

Article 1:243 Services to the Child Protection Board are to be provided free of charge
- 1. The Mayor and Aldermen and the Registrars of Civil Status shall provide the Child Protection Board, free of charge, with all information and with any true copies and extracts from the Registers of Civil States which the Board requires of them to carry out its duties. When the Child Protection Board carries out its duties or exercises its powers by virtue of any of the statutory provisions of the present Title or of Titles 1.9, 1.10, 1.14, 1.15 and 1.17 of the Civil Code or on the basis of the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure in connection therewith, the institutions and persons pointed out to this end by Order in Council shall provide the Board, free of charge, all information that the Board needs to be able to carry out its duties properly.
- 2. All requests presented by the Child Protection Board in the performance of its duties to the court, shall be considered free of charge; execution documents, true copies and extracts, which the Board requests for this purpose, shall be provided free of charge by the clerk of the District Court.
- 3. Writs served by bailiffs upon the request of the Child Protection Board, shall be reimbursed at the normal rate. Solicitors may charge a remuneration to the Board for services rendered.
- 4. When the Child Protection Board acts in court pursuant to any of the statutory provisions of the present Title or of Titles 1.9, 1.10, 1.12, 1.14, 1.15 and 1.17 of the Civil Code, it may do so without assistance of a solicitor, except in legal proceedings which are started by a writ of summons.

Section 1.13.4 Registers for authority exercised over minors

Article 1:244 Public authority registers
Public registers are in the keeping of the District Court in which all legal facts with regard to the exercise of authority over minors are marked. By Order in Council will be determined which legal facts are to be marked and how such marks have to be made.