probation orders as well as of correlative obligations to comply with CEF placements and the rules and regulations of the institutions concerned, subject to the revocation of any measures ordered without such notification. On the other hand, no legal provisions provide for the issuing of express notification of their rights to minors placed in CEFs, or to their parents, at the time of their arrival. Nevertheless, Act no. 2002-02 of 2nd January 2002, reforming social and medico-social initiatives, promotes the right of users in departments and institutions of the judicial youth protection service in particular. This Act, which is applicable to CEFs, confers the position of “indirect users” upon parents, insofar as they have not lost parental authority from the sole fact of the measure. By virtue of this Act, the rights pertaining to minors placed in CEFs are those of users rather than captives. In reality, the minor’s parents or legal representatives may receive a dossier for new arrivals, including the rules of operation of the CEF and the booklet for new arrivals. The charter of rights and liberties of persons committed to the institution is sometimes also attached to the rules and regulations. Although the family is sometimes received from the time that the minor arrives in the CEF, with the documents being handed over to them directly, in practice the relation between minors and their families is often restricted, in particular for the first days following their arrival. Minors do not receive any visits and, in principle, do not communicate either by telephone or letter with their parents. Initially, the information given to the latter on the rights of their child and on the functioning of the CEF is often kept to a minimum. It was ascertained that these rules and regulations – which are designed to be signed by minors after their arrival – are not always countersigned by their parents. At best, parents are asked to give an opinion on the individual plans established by and for their child and informed of serious events concerning the latter. However, they are rarely placed in a position to make real decisions concerning them, including with regard to the organisation of their penal defence. No information is passed on to them by the staff of CEFs. Notification of the legal representatives of patients hospitalised in psychiatric wards In the case of minors – apart from the scenario of committal for psychiatric treatment at the request of a representative of the State – their legal representatives are responsible for treatment (and discharge) decisions; in which they should involve the child insofar as possible. As far as adults are concerned, if they are not in a state to express their wishes, their family, a close relation, or their guardian have to be informed of committal decisions and placed in a position to have their remarks taken into account throughout the duration of the hospitalisation. The law makes an obligation to notify adult wards incumbent upon court-appointed conservators 238. In practice, within the care and treatment frameworks encountered by the inspectors, conservators hardly ever go to hospital wards and rarely ask to see doctors. They do not therefore place themselves in a position to comply with their obligation of notification with regard to adults placed under their protection. 238 Article 457-1 of the civil code provides that: “Wards receive from the person in charge of their protection, according to modes appropriate to their condition and without prejudice to information that third parties are bound to provide to them pursuant to the law, all information on their personal situation, the acts involved, their usefulness, their degree of urgency, their effects and the consequences of any refusal on their part”. 152