Supreme personal rights

Supreme personal rights are protected and regulated under in Art. 19c CC. Supreme personal rights are those to which a person is entitled to by virtue of their personhood. Such rights are available to persons who are incapable of acting. The latter include persons who have not yet reached legal age and those who are under comprehensive guardianship but they must be capable of judgement.

For example, the right to consent to or refuse medical treatment, the right to enter into a marriage and, in connection with this, the right to file for divorce are considered supreme personal rights. It also includes the right to draw up a will, to revoke it and to design a contract of inheritance.

If a person has legal representation, the legal representation is not permitted to exercise supreme personal rights on their behalf. However, in the case of certain supreme personal rights, the law allows the legal representative to give the person’s consent. For example, the parents or guardians of a child may be considered their legal representation. Consent of the legal representation is necessary for the recognition of a child or when concluding an inheritance contract.

In the case of persons who lacks judgement capability, a distinction is made between absolute and relative rights of a supreme personal nature. In the case of absolute rights, neither the incapacitated person themselves nor their legal representative (e.g. parents or a guardian) can exercise the rights. A person who is incapable of judgement is generally not allowed to enter into a marriage, make a will or sign an inheritance contract. In the case of relative rights, it is possible for the legal representative to act on behalf of the incapacitated person. The legal representation then exercises the rights instead of the represented person. Consent to ordinary medical interventions can be given accordingly.

If you want to take precautions so that decisions are made according to your own will in the event of sudden incapacity, for example due to serious illness, old age or a serious accident, it is advisable to draw up a directive in advance. From the age of 18, the author can determine who makes a decision for them in the respective situation and what the decision should be.

Our lawyers in St. Gallen, Zurich and Frauenfeld will be happy to help you with questions regarding supreme personal rights.