Protection of elderly persons’ legal interests – reasons for and review of legal solutions

This article outlines the subject of protective measures applied to safeguard the legitimate interests of elderly persons under the civil law system, as illustrated by regulations selected from European legal systems. With the ageing of societies come all the associated health consequences; therefore, it is necessary to introduce modern legislation to regulate this issue so that the rights of elderly persons, including their human rights, be protected. Decisive efforts should be made to discontinue the institution of incapacitation which is discriminatory against elderly persons involved in civil law transactions, and to replace it with a modern protective system.