[Reform of the guardianship and health care right--a contribution of government to the protection of the elderly].

People over the age of majority who are in need of help because of age or sickness must be protected by a modern law of guardianship. Current law with its provisions for declarations of incapacity, guardians for non-minors and tutelage for the frail or infirm rests on outdated concepts of the nineteenth century. Science and practice agree that there is an urgent need for reform. It is not possible to be content with the constitutionally guaranteed principle of proportionality (the requirement that laws bear a reasonable relationship to the ends they are intended to effect); current law permits limitations on legal capacity but does not fully protect either the ward or the involved legal transactions. Current law also does not sufficiently assure that the ward receives personal attention from the guardian or tutor. The German Federal Government has now proposed a draft Guardianship Law. This draft is designed to limit intrusions into the rights of affected persons while also procedurally improving their legal position. The authors approve of this goal; they discuss the essential provisions of the proposed law and come to critical judgments about them.