New Horizons in Disability Law: Challenges and Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities in Post-pandemic World

A special issue of Laws (ISSN 2075-471X). This special issue belongs to the section "Human Rights Issues".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2024) | Viewed by 7347

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department for Legal Sciences, Miguel Hernández University, 03201 Elche, Spain
Interests: human rights; disability law and policies; rights of persons with disabilities

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

On May 8th, 2023, we will celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the entry into force of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This Convention was a remarkable milestone, which deeply changed the approach of society and Law regarding people with disabilities. However, the implementation of the Convention in national legal systems is progressing slowly and faces considerable difficulties. In many countries, people with disabilities are still deprived of their human rights (right to vote, right to legal capacity, right to inclusive education, among others) or do not have the necessary support to overcome the barriers which hinder their full participation in society. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has particularly affected people with disabilities, who in many cases have even been denied appropriate sanitary assistance.

This Special Issue aims to provide the scientific knowledge necessary to improve the implementation of the UN Convention and to help people with disabilities to face the new challenges of an increasing digital world. Among other goals, Laws intends to bridge traditional boundaries and challenge the injustices inherent in the law, and this Special Issue will contribute to these ends.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to):

  • The right to legal capacity;
  • Accessibility;
  • The right to health of people with disabilities: lessons from the pandemic;
  • Legal instruments to improve labor inclusion of persons with disabilities;
  • The right to inclusive education;
  • Political participation of people with disabilities;
  • Persons with disabilities and digitalization.

We seek contributions that will help legal systems and public policies better protect the rights of persons with disabilities. Therefore, critical reviews of legal reforms that have been undertaken in recent years, as well as studies which propose new legal reforms or identify new potential threats for the rights of people with disabilities and suggest legal instruments and public policies to overcome these issues, are especially welcome.

We look forward to receiving your contributions. 

Prof. Dr. Antonio Luis Martínez Pujalte
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • persons with disabilities
  • right to legal capacity
  • accessibility
  • disability law
  • disability policies
  • inclusive education
  • political participation
  • digitalization
  • labor inclusion

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

48 pages, 420 KiB  
Article
Deinstitutionalization as Reparative Justice: A Commentary on the Guidelines on Deinstitutionalization, including in Emergencies
by Tina Minkowitz
Laws 2024, 13(2), 14; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws13020014 - 7 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3141
Abstract
In this paper, I argue that the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Guidelines on Deinstitutionalization, Including in Emergencies function as an instrument and template for reparative justice towards persons still in institutions and survivors of institutionalization. The Guidelines construct deinstitutionalization [...] Read more.
In this paper, I argue that the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Guidelines on Deinstitutionalization, Including in Emergencies function as an instrument and template for reparative justice towards persons still in institutions and survivors of institutionalization. The Guidelines construct deinstitutionalization as a reparative process at both the systemic and individual levels, as well as calling for the creation of reparation and redress mechanisms. I examine the entire body of the Guidelines, highlight their reparative content, and point out where the text may fall short of this perspective and how the shortcomings might be remedied. This paper is grounded in the situation of psychiatric institutionalization and the concerns of people subjected to that system, emphasizing issues faced by this constituency and its human rights concerns for redress and legal and societal change. The issues addressed include the following: the strengthening of normative standards with regard to the abolition of psychiatric institutionalization and forced interventions and the obligation to immediately end these violations; a policy shift towards the de-medicalization of psychosocial disability; the implications of reparative justice in diminishing the role and authority of those that have operated institutions including the mental health system; the role of adult persons with disabilities as members of families and the role played by some family members in institutionalization; issues to be considered in designing reparations processes and mechanisms. Following some introductory remarks, this paper is structured to follow the outline of the Guidelines, quoting the text with interspersed comments and ending with a brief conclusion. Full article
17 pages, 1132 KiB  
Article
A Four-Speed Reform: A Typology for Legal Capacity Reforms in Latin American Countries
by Renato Antonio Constantino Caycho and Renata Anahí Bregaglio Lazarte
Laws 2023, 12(3), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws12030045 - 10 May 2023
Viewed by 3099
Abstract
In the past few years, Latin American countries have started to enact changes in their legal capacity regulations regarding persons with disabilities. However, even when these changes started over eight years ago, there were few to no analyses on the matter. In addition, [...] Read more.
In the past few years, Latin American countries have started to enact changes in their legal capacity regulations regarding persons with disabilities. However, even when these changes started over eight years ago, there were few to no analyses on the matter. In addition, there is no encompassing theory or typology on how these reforms happen and on their effects. In the present paper, we propose two axes of analysis for the reforms: enforceability and compliance with Article 12 of the CRPD. This matrix allows for four kinds of reforms: incipient, formal, conciliatory and radical. Using this matrix, we examined the legislative changes in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru. Incipient reforms (Mexico) are not that effective but can lead to serious later change. Formal reforms (the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Nicaragua) have few to no effects. Conciliatory reforms (Argentina, Brazil and Costa Rica) are a legislative compromise that allows for progressive change. Finally, radical reforms create encompassing change that is good but might create problems in the implementation. Full article
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