Curator ad litem

In Scots law and Roman-Dutch law, a curator ad litem is a legal representative appointed by a court to represent, during legal proceedings, the best interests of a person who lacks the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves. A curator may be appointed for a child or for a person who is mentally or physically incapacitated. The corresponding office in English common law is that of guardian ad litem.

The difference between a curator ad litem and an ordinary legal representative is that the curator does not have to follow the client's instructions, but must independently act in their best interest. In Scotland curators ad litem are usually solicitors; in South Africa they are usually advocates.

See also


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/23/2013. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.