1. Of minor age is the patient who has not attained fully the age of eighteen years (Art. 388 Civil Code as amended by Art. 1 of the Law of 19 January 1990 reducing the civil majority to eighteen years of age, Moniteur belge, 30 January 1990). A minor person lacks legal capacity, e.g. he is not capable to contract with a physician or a hospital.
   In the case of minor patients, the patient rights are exercised by the parents asserting authority over the minor or by the patient’s guardians. The minor patient will be involved in exercising his rights, bearing in mind his age and level of maturity. Minor patients who are deemed capable of reasonably grasping their situation may exercise their rights on their own behal. Nowhere is it explicitly stated who is to judge whether the minor patient can be deemed capable of reasonably grasping the situation, but the most obvious course of action would be to leave it up to the health professional. The health professional may only act provided he has obtained valid consent. It is up to him to decide whether the conditions for a valid consent are present.
2. The attending health professional has the duty to deviate from the decision taken by parents in the interest of the patient and to avert a threat to the patient’s life or serious damage to his health.

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