A person under a legal incapacity is incapable of binding
themselves to a legal outcome or incurring liability for costs. As
such, they are incapable of asserting or protecting their rights
through the institution, or defence, of legal proceedings. In order
to overcome these issues in legal proceedings, to safeguard the
interest of the incapable person and to protect the processes of
the Court, the Court required a "next friend" (an
expression which has been replaced by the expression
"tutor") to be appointed as an officer of the Court to
represent the incapable person in the litigation.
The next friend was not a party to the litigation, and derived
his or her authority from the Court, not the incapable person. The
next friend could be removed, if, for example, they acted
improperly or had an interest adverse to that of the incapable
person.1
