Parens Patriae - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition parens-patriae

Definition :

Parens patriae, means the State in its capacity as the legal guardian of persons not sui juris and without natural guardians as the heirs to persons without natural heirs, and as the protector of all citizens unable to protect themselves, Kent v. United States, 383 US 541 (1966).

The sovereign, as parens patri', has a kind of guardianship over various classes of persons, who, from their legal disability, stand in need of protection, such as infants, idiots, and lunatics.