This Practice Note explains what guardianship of a child is under section 5 of the Children Act 1989. It explains what the effects of being appointed a guardian are. It also sets out the principles that the court will consider when appointing a guardian. The appointment of a guardian by a parent or guardian is also considered, including the methods of appointment and the date the appointment takes effect. Guardianship A guardian is someone who has been formally appointed to take the place of the child's deceased parent. A guardian may only be appointed in accordance with the provisions of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989). Guardianship in this context is completely different from the role of a special guardian under the ChA 1989, s 14A  and the role of children's guardian under ChA 1989, s 41. When the appointment takes effect the guardian acquires parental responsibility for the child. A guardian may be appointed by the court, a parent with parental responsibility, a guardian or special guardian for a child who is under the age of 18. There is

Guardianship describes the legal authority and responsibility conferred on an individual (or, in some cases, a body) to make decisions and care for a child or an adult lacking capacity, where parental responsibility or ordinary decision‑making rights are insufficient or inappropriate. It commonly arises on the death, absence or incapacity of parents, or in adult incapacity regimes.In England and Wales, “guardian” and “guardianship” are principally governed by the Children Act 1989 and related legislation, focussing on parental responsibility for children. For adults, decision‑making is usually addressed through the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (deputies rather than “guardians”), save for limited statutory schemes.In Scotland, “guardianship orders” under the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 are central to adult incapacity law, while child guardianship is tied to parental responsibilities and rights under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.In Northern Ireland and Ireland, guardianship of children is mainly regulated by family law and children legislation, with adult incapacity addressed through separate frameworks (including enduring powers of attorney and capacity legislation).Across all jurisdictions, guardianship is a protective measure, scrutinised by the courts, with duties owed to the best interests and welfare of the child or protected adult.

This Practice Note describes the court process to appoint a welfare and/or financial guardian to an adult over the age of 16 in Scotland from the drafting of the application through to the granting of the order. For information on the factors that should be considered before making an application to appoint a welfare guardian or a financial and property guardian, see Practice Notes: Welfare guardianships—Scotland, Financial and property guardianships—Scotland and Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 (AI(S)A 2000) sets out the legislative framework for safeguarding the interests of incapacitated adults in Scotland. Drafting of the application Initial step All lay guardians wishing to apply for financial powers must complete and submit a Guardian Declaration form along with the application. Style There is no statutory style for an application for a guardianship order but this is usually made by way of summary application for a first order and a renewal of the order, and by way of a minute to vary an existing order if additional

This Practice Note summarises the issues to consider before making an application to appoint a welfare and/or financial guardian for an adult over the age of 16 in Scotland under the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 (AI(S)A 2000). For information on the court process for making an application, see Practice Note: Guardianship applications in Scotland—court process. For information on the legislative framework of making an application, see Practice Note: Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. When should a guardianship application be considered? When an adult becomes mentally incapacitated and is unable to manage their own welfare and financial affairs and if there is no power of attorney in place. An adult is deemed ‘incapable’ if they are incapable of: • acting • making decisions • communicating decisions • understanding the decisions or • retaining the memory of decisions This incapacity does not necessarily result from a mental disorder (section 328 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003) but can also result from an inability to communicate as

NOTE—to see whether notification thresholds in Guatemala and throughout the world are met, see further: Where to Notify. 1. Have there been any recent developments regarding the Guatemalan merger control regime and are any updates/developments expected in the coming year? Are there any other ‘hot’ merger control issues in Guatemala? Significant changes took place in late 2024. In November, the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala approved Bill No 5074, enacting the Competition Law (Decree No. 32-2024) (Competition Law).Competition Law (unofficial English translation) The Competition Law entered into force in stages. The provisions related to general principles of competition protection and the establishment of the new Competition Superintendency (Superintendency) came into effect on 1 January 2025. However, the provisions concerning merger control—specifically, mandatory notification and prior authorisation by the Superintendency—will not take effect until two years after publication of the Competition Law in the Official Gazette (ie in December 2026). In August 2025, the Directors of the Superintendency were designated by the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala, the Executive Branch of Government, and the Monetary Board of the

Legal framework While it is not a legal requirement to obtain a grant of probate in Guernsey in respect of a Will of the deceased, it is usually a practical requirement for the purposes of administering the Guernsey situs assets of the deceased. For this reason, foreign domiciliaries with Guernsey situs assets are increasingly making use of Guernsey-specific Wills to ease the administration of their Guernsey estate after their death. The legal system of Guernsey is rooted in customary law, with matters of succession and land law developing from the common law of Normandy and France prior to 1789. This inevitably has a bearing on the construction of Guernsey Wills and succession in respect of Guernsey realty. However, Guernsey has also sought to recognise the validity of foreign Wills with the aim of meeting the common policy aims of private international law. Consequently, Guernsey law distinguishes between Wills executed within and those executed outside the island of Guernsey. Furthermore, succession law is not uniform throughout the Bailiwick of Guernsey and different rules apply in

This table summarises all completed investigations by Guernsey’s competition authority (the Guernsey Competition Regulatory Authority—the GCRA) into alleged cartels, anti-competitive agreements and abuses of dominant positions since 2013. Note—only investigations that have been made public are included in this table. 2023 Investigations under section 5 of the Competition (Guernsey) Ordinance 2012 Case name, companies under investigation and industry Issues Developments Optometric services• Unknown Restrictive agreements • Investigation issued—17/05/2023 Investigations under section 1 of the Competition (Guernsey) Ordinance 2012 The GCRA did not issue any decisions under section 1 in 2023 2022 Investigations under section 5 of the Competition (Guernsey) Ordinance 2012 The GCRA did not issue any decisions under section 5 in 2023 Investigations under section 1 of the Competition (Guernsey) Ordinance 2012 The GCRA did not issue any decisions under section 1 in 2023 2021 Investigations under section 5 of the Competition (Guernsey) Ordinance 2012 Case name, companies under investigation and industry Issues Developments Mobile

The foundation is originally a civil law concept and, unlike the common law trust, a creature of statute. This Practice Note is a summary of the Guernsey foundations regime, which took effect in 2013. It describes the main features of a Guernsey foundation and briefly addresses the registration process, the key persons involved in a foundation and their respective rights and duties, the uses of a foundation and the migration of a foreign foundation to Guernsey. The regulation and taxation of foundations in Guernsey is also discussed below. What is a Guernsey foundation? The Foundations (Guernsey) Law, 2012 (Law), which came into force on 7 January 2013 (and which was amended by the Beneficial Ownership of Legal Persons (Guernsey) Law, 2017 (Beneficial ownership Law) and most recently by the Foundations (Guernsey) (Amendment) Law, 2023, among other changes made via ordinance and regulation), enables the establishment of foundations in Guernsey. The flexibility that is afforded by the Law permits Guernsey foundations to be used for a myriad of purposes ranging from traditional private client wealth structuring to commercial

NOTE—to see whether notification thresholds in Guernsey and throughout the world are met, see further: Where to Notify. 1. Have there been any recent developments regarding the Indonesian merger control regime and are any updates/developments expected in the coming year? Are there any other ‘hot’ merger control issues in Guernsey? Following the separation of the Guernsey Competition and Regulatory Authority (GCRA) and the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority on 1 July 2020, the States of Deliberation (the States) have undertaken a substantive review of Guernsey's competition regime, in particular its merger control regime, with the purpose of increasing the alignment of Guernsey's competition legislation with that of the European Union (EU) and to address certain potential improvements to the merger and acquisition framework that have been identified by GCRA and the island's legal community. As a result of this review, the States published a policy letter identifying a number of proposed amendments to Guernsey's merger control regime in 2020. The identified changes include: • amendments to the definition of 'merger or acquisitions' to make it clear that intra-group reorganisations

For general information on Guernsey, see Practice Note: Private client—Guernsey—Q&A guide. Guernsey as a trust jurisdiction Whilst there are examples of Guernsey’s recognition of the trust concept dating from the eighteenth century, Guernsey’s trust services industry as we know it today was born in the 1960s and 1970s as a result of foreign exchange controls, tax and succession planning and the migration of wealthy residents. It has continued to develop to meet the needs of ever mobile international clients and also the developing international regulatory environment and is now host to approximately 150 professional licensed fiduciaries (based on primary licensee statistics), ranging from large international firms to independent boutique companies. Trusts were regularly established in Guernsey prior to the promulgation of the Trusts (Guernsey) Law, 1989 (the 1989 Law) evidenced in statutes and court decisions. The 1989 Law recognised the validity of Guernsey and foreign trusts and established principles applicable to them. The 1989 Law has since been superseded by the Trusts (Guernsey) Law, 2007 (the 2007 Law), which is now the main source

Loan market and developments Please provide a brief overview of the current state of the loan markets in your jurisdiction and any significant recent market developments. Lending from Guernsey banks tends to be limited to transactions involving Guernsey funds, or local real estate or other Guernsey assets of Guernsey businesses. In Guernsey we primarily see lending from UK and European banks to Guernsey structures which hold Guernsey and non-Guernsey situs assets including UK real estate. Please provide a brief overview of forthcoming changes to the law or other matters that may affect the loan markets or the responses to the questions below. There are no relevant forthcoming changes. Lending Is it necessary to obtain any consents or licenses in order to lend in your jurisdiction or enforce rights under a loan agreement and if so what is the process for obtaining the consent or license? Are there any other restrictions on lending that foreign lenders should be aware of? Financial institutions which are not (a) carrying on

CASE HUB ARCHIVED–this archived case hub reflects the position at the date of the decision of 17 December 2018; it is no longer maintained. See further, timeline, commentary and related cases. Case facts Outline European Commission Article 101 TFEU investigation into vertical restrictions on online advertising and cross-border sales imposed by Guess (Case AT.40428). Latest developments On 17 December 2018, the Commission issued its infringement decision against Asus, imposing a fine of €39.821m (following an ‘informal settlement’), for restricting retailers from online advertising and selling cross-border to consumers in other Member States (‘geo-blocking’) in breach of Article 101 TFEU. Parties Guess is an US-based clothing brand and retailer which designs, distributes and licenses clothing and accessories under numerous trademarks, including "GUESS?" and "MARCIANO". In the EEA, Guess operates a selective distribution system. Background The Commission opened its investigation on 6 June 2017 as a result of information obtained during its e-commerce sector inquiry. Market(s) Markets for the distribution and retail of clothing and accessories. Decision The Commission found that Guess' distribution agreements breached Article