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Section 2: Organisation and operation of guardianship

Article 395 of the French Civil Code

Not entitled to exercise the various offices of guardianship: 1° Unemancipated minors, unless they are the father or mother of the minor under guardianship; 2° Adults who benefit from a legal protection measure provided for by this code; 3° Persons from whom parental authority has been withdrawn; 4° Persons from whom the exercise of guardianship charges has been prohibited pursuant to article 131-26 of the Penal Code.

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Article 396 of the French Civil Code

Any tutelary office may be withdrawn because of the unfitness, negligence, misconduct or fraud of the person to whom it has been entrusted. The same applies where a dispute or conflict of interests prevents the holder of the office from exercising it in the interests of the minor. Any person to whom a tutelary office has been entrusted may be replaced in the event of a significant change in his…

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Article 397 of the French Civil Code

The family council rules on impediments, withdrawals and replacements that concern the tutor and subrogated tutor. The guardianship judge rules on those that concern the other members of the family council. A tutelary office may only be withdrawn, by the person who entrusted it, after the holder has been heard or called. The judge may, if he considers that there is an emergency, prescribe provisional measures in the interest of…

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Article 399 of the French Civil Code

The guardianship judge appoints the members of the family council for the duration of the guardianship. The family council is made up of at least four members, including the guardian and the subrogated guardian, but not the judge. Members of the family council may include the parents and relatives of the minor’s father and mother and any person, resident in France or abroad, who shows an interest in the minor….

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Article 400 of the French Civil Code

The family council is chaired by the guardianship judge. Its deliberations are adopted by a vote of its members. However, the guardian or subrogated guardian, in the event that he replaces the guardian, does not vote. In the event of a tie, the judge has the casting vote.

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Article 401 of the French Civil Code

The family council settles the general conditions for the maintenance and education of the minor, having regard to the wishes that the father and mother may have expressed. It assesses the compensation that may be allocated to the tutor. He takes the decisions and gives the tutor the authorisations necessary for the management of the minor’s property in accordance with the provisions of Title XII. The family council authorises a…

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Article 402 of the French Civil Code

The deliberations of the family council are null and void where they have been surprised by fraud or deceit or where substantial formalities have been omitted. Nullity is covered by a new deliberation valid as confirmation according to article 1182. An action for nullity may be brought by the tutor, the subrogated tutor, the other members of the family council and the public prosecutor within two years of the deliberation,…

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Article 403 of the French Civil Code

The individual right to choose a guardian, whether related to the minor or not, belongs only to the last surviving father and mother if he or she has retained, on the day of death, the exercise of parental authority. This appointment may only be made in the form of a will or a special declaration before a notary. It is binding on the family council unless the interests of the…

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