The Ombudsman (Ombudsmanden) is taking action on long waiting times in guardianship cases. The Danish Agency for Family Law (Familieretshuset) is facing serious criticism due to the long processing times for guardianship cases. According to a new press release from the Danish Parliamentary Ombudsman (Folketingets Ombudsmand), waiting times for guardianship cases have reached up to two and a half years. This has prompted the Ombudsman to intervene.
The Ombudsman has received several complaints about the long processing time at the Danish Agency for Family Law, especially in cases involving the establishment of guardianship, changes to guardianship, and the use of minors’ assets. These complaints have now led the Ombudsman to investigate the matter further.
In a specific case highlighted by DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation), a 17-year-old orphaned boy from the Herning area has been waiting for over a year for approval from the Danish Agency for Family Law to use his own assets. This has led the chairman of the Association of Permanent Guardians in Denmark, lawyer Lasse Hummelhof Frandsen, to call the situation “deeply, deeply critical”.
The Danish Agency for Family Law has acknowledged in a note that the administration of the guardianship area is in a “particularly critical state” and borders on being “in violation of good administrative practice”. According to the Danish Agency for Family Law, part of the reason for the long waiting times is that the number of guardianship cases has increased by 51% in five years.
The Ombudsman has now requested the Danish Agency for Family Law to provide a range of information regarding processing times and prioritization of cases. Additionally, he wants information on what initiatives the authority has implemented or plans to implement to reduce processing times. The Ombudsman expects to receive a response by the end of September.
The Danish Agency for Family Law was established in 2019 as part of a reform of the divorce system, replacing the former State Administration (Statsforvaltning).