Equal Recognition Before Law - It's the International Standard

General Comment No. 1, CRPD, Article 12

Read the full text here: https://goo.gl/QigRy6

This is the authoritative interpretation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

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Article 5: Equality and non-discrimination

32. To achieve equal recognition before the law, legal capacity must not be denied
discriminatorily. Article 5 of the Convention guarantees equality for all persons under and
before the law and the right to equal protection of the law. It expressly prohibits all
discrimination on the basis of disability. Discrimination on the basis of disability is defined
in article 2 of the Convention as “any distinction, exclusion or restriction on the basis of
disability which has the purpose or effect of impairing or nullifying the recognition,
enjoyment or exercise, on an equal basis with others, of all human rights and fundamental
freedoms”. Denial of legal capacity having the purpose or effect of interfering with the right
of persons with disabilities to equal recognition before the law is a violation of articles 5
and 12 of the Convention. States have the ability to restrict the legal capacity of a person
based on certain circumstances, such as bankruptcy or criminal conviction. However, the
right to equal recognition before the law and freedom from discrimination requires that
when the State denies legal capacity, it must be on the same basis for all persons. Denial of
legal capacity must not be based on a personal trait such as gender, race, or disability, or
have the purpose or effect of treating the person differently.

33. Freedom from discrimination in the recognition of legal capacity restores autonomy
and respects the human dignity of the person in accordance with the principles enshrined in
article 3 (a) of the Convention. Freedom to make one’s own choices most often requires
legal capacity. Independence and autonomy include the power to have one’s decisions
legally respected. The need for support and reasonable accommodation in making decisions
shall not be used to question a person’s legal capacity. Respect for difference and
acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity (art. 3 (d))
is incompatible with granting legal capacity on an assimilationist basis.

General Comment No. 1, CRPD, Article 12

Read the full text here: https://goo.gl/QigRy6