Current issues in the protection of adults from the perspective of Private International Law

This paper aims to analyze the current situation on the international protection of adults from the perspective of Private International Law (hereinafter PIL) in the particular context of the EU territory. In this regard, it highlights some particularly controversial points and future prospects. For this purpose it examines in particular the lack of a specific EU Regulation to address this matter, and also the existence of certain international conventions dealing with some aspects in this area. Adopting the perspective of the Member States, in particular that of Spain, the delicate question of the interaction between legal sources and the need to improve the legal situation of vulnerable adults in international cases is analyzed. In this respect, a set of lege ferenda measures is proposed, which are aimed at building a framework that effectively enables the appropriate treatment of all the aspects regarding PIL in this area.