Abstract
The approach to autonomy is decisive in the legal understanding of vulnerability. It is in the light of a conception of personal autonomy, understood as the capacity to express one's own choices by oneself, that persons are identified as vulnerable because of an impairment of their mental or physical faculties such as to prevent the expression of their will. Consequently, the protection of vulnerable adults can be achieved not only through assistance measures but also through representation. This paradigm is now being challenged by an approach to autonomy that emphasises the relational nature of autonomy due to the interdependence of subjects with fundamental rights. The relational approach to autonomy has various facets depending on the types of vulnerabilities apprehended by the law, whether these vulnerabilities are due to a characteristic intrinsic to the person, or/and extrinsic, relating to their situation.This collective work, the result of a multidisciplinary symposium organised in December 2023 at the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme Paris Nord under the aegis of the IRDA, analyses various aspects: support for people with impaired faculties, elderly people in nursing homes, disabled people, the role of family carers, abuse, support for minors in the care of the Child Protection Service and vulnerable young adults, support for patient autonomy, people requesting assistance in dying.