Justice Systems and Legal Capacity

International News

Procedural Accommodation Needed for Persons with Psychosocial or Intellectual Disabilities in Criminal Justice Processes. (Jun, Health and Human Rights Journal)

Transitional Justice and Inclusiveness: Where Does Disability Fit In? “What this article specifically accentuates is the need for inclusive storytelling spaces within transitional justice processes and it highlights in this regard the unexplored significance of multi-sensory storytelling.” (2023, University of Birmingham)

A review on corruption and the equal enjoyment of rights for persons with disabilities:

“People with disabilities are exposed to abuse by those that provide care, the embezzlement of funds intended to benefit persons with disabilities and extortion in the process of acquiring a disability certificate. [...] This impact of this corruption is caused, enabled or exacerbated by discrimination against persons with disabilities.“ (2022, U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre)

Evidence brief on promoting effective implementation of legal capacity as outlined in Article 12 of the UN CRPD in Low and Middle-Income Countries. (2022, Disability Evidence Portal)

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Americas

Practical Guide for the Establishment of Support for the Exercise of the Legal Capacity of persons with disabilities. Also available in Portuguese and Spanish (links to pdf, 2022, OAS)

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Africa

Recognising the testimonial competence of persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities in Southern Africa:

“Lesotho is the only country in southern Africa to successfully contest and change the legal position on the testimonial competence of persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities. As such, the other countries have lessons to learn both from what Lesotho got right and from what it missed. Two lessons in particular can be gleaned from Lesotho’s experience. The first lesson is that upholding testimonial competence requires the recognition of the right to legal capacity. Second, the recognition of the testimonial competence of persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities is merely a first step, they also need to be given the support necessary for their effective participation.” (2022, African Disability Rights Year Book)

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Ghana

Criminal justice in Ghana as experienced by people with disabilities: “we found that the criminal justice system was unfriendly toward persons with disabilities due to factors such as lack of funds, inaccessible physical environments, language and communication barriers, and negative attitudes toward persons with disabilities” (2022, Journal of Human Rights)

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South Africa

Thirteen years after a disabled child spent a night in a filthy cell, court slashes damages payout. (2022, Ground Up)

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Tanzania

Tanzania’s Criminal Justice System Fails People With Intellectual Disability “Its treatment of Limi, a mother with proven intellectual disability who has been in jail for over a decade after being accused of killing her child, reflects a disturbing disregard for humanity and the right to a fair trial.” (Mar, The Chanzo)

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Bahrain

Gerard Quinn, Special Rapporteur, condemns detention and ill-treatment of Dr Abduljalil al Singace (2023, Gerard Quinn)

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Bangladesh

Participation of People with Disability Program resources for disabled people's organizations to implement the UNCRPD. (2022, Disability Bangladesh)

Mobilizing Disabled Peoples’ Organizations to Implement Bangladesh’s Disability Law (Yes, the Journal of Human Rights Practice has a paywall oh dear, 2022, Journal of Human Rights Practice)

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India

G.N. Saibaba's 2017 Prison Letter Sheds Light on the Rights of Disabled Prisoners. (Oct, The Wire)

Handbook concerning persons with disabilities:

“Sensitising judges to the principles of non-discrimination and reasonable accommodations and the societal barriers faced by people with disabilities is essential for upholding the rights of persons with disabilities and promoting a more inclusive and equitable justice system. Judges who possess a deep understanding of these issues are better equipped to render fair and impartial judgments, foster an environment of respect and dignity in their courtrooms, and contribute to the broader societal goal of empowering and including persons with disabilities in all spheres of life.” (Sep, Supreme Court of India)

Unequal Justice? Nagaland’s top legal institutions found lacking basic accessibility. (May, MorungExpress)

A critical analysis of the Supreme Court’s report on accessibility “The findings of the report are as much an indictment as they are a call to action.” (Mar, The Leaflet)

In A First, Deaf Lawyer Sara Sunny Argues Supreme Court Case In Sign Language “Chief Justice Chandrachud has been calling for ensuring equal access to justice. Last year, he ordered a detailed accessibility audit of the Supreme Court complex to make the justice system more accessible and to understand the challenges faced by differently abled people when they come to the court.” (2023, NDTV) See further on the BBC.

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Malaysia

Finally, after 5 months, police officer who assaulted deaf driver to be charged. “It comes after protests from the disabled community and rights groups over the long delay in bringing charges despite video evidence.” (Nov, Malaysia Now)

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Palestine

Soldiers handcuff and arrest intellectually disabled teen (13) for two hours, and then arrest two of his relatives and abuse them. (2022, B'Tselem)

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Singapore

Singapore executes man on drugs charge, rejecting mental disability plea. (2022, BBC) UN human rights exerts called for an immediate moratorium on use of the death penalty.

Pending Execution Highlights Singapore’s Failures on Disability Rights. "During a hearing on March 1, Singapore’s highest court made clear that Singapore law does not prohibit the execution of people with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities." (2022, Human Rights Watch)

Court upholds death sentence of man with learning disabilities “Outcry over drug smuggling case of Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, who could be executed in days” (2022, the Guardian)

Singapore urged to halt two executions over disability concerns (2022, the Guardian)

Singapore courts set to consider executions amid fears authorities want to clear backlog Case of Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, who has learning difficulties, among four to be heard next week (2022, the Guardian)

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Europe

Widespread deprivation of legal capacity : A human rights report across EU countries finds that:

“no EU country fully protects persons with disabilities from losing their right to make decisions – and this enables violence and abuse against persons with disabilities.” (Sep, EDF)

Recommendations on disability rights in pre-trial detention (2022, EDF)

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Ireland

Professional and Family Carers’ Perspectives on the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on Supported Decision-Making with Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: A Qualitative Online Survey. (2023, Disabilities)

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Netherlands

Deafblind Ekrem thought he was being robbed but is accused of assaulting police officers. (Apr, DNieuws)

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Spain

CERMI Mujeres awards the best photographs about the difficulties of women with disabilities to access justice. (In Spanish., 2022, CERMI Mujeres)

Court confirms 14 years in prison for a former political leader for abuse of two persons with disability. (2022, Eldiaro.)

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Switzerland

A detained man with disability has been languishing, isolated, in the basement of Geneva University Hospitals for 17 months. (In French, Oct, TdG)

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United Kingdom

Opening up on disability “Lawyers take pride in protecting the rights of disabled clients, but the profession’s own record on access is mixed.” (Feb, The Law Society Gazette)

‘Judges know more about their gentleman's club wine than disability rights’ John Horan was flying high in the legal world but then suffered a stroke. (Jan, Camden New Journal)

Prisoners with severe mental health needs spending months in isolation, report finds. “A prisoner who repeatedly self-harmed spent more than 800 days in segregation, according to a damning report that reveals that jails are using isolation to manage severe mental health needs.” (Jan, the Guardian)

Are we receiving the justice we deserve? With support from disabled magistrates, a report on inaccessible courtrooms. (2023, Magistrates Association)

No longer free to be Deaf: Cultural, medical and social understandings of d/Deafness in prison: “there is little room for a cultural model of Deafness in prison, and in consequence, prison becomes medically deafening for Deaf prisoners.” (2022, Disability and Society)

Pushing at the Boundaries of Legal Personhood. “Could we then imagine a framework of legal personhood that recognises persons with removeable parts?” (2022, Frontiers of Sociolegal Studies)

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Canada

Disability Injustice - Confronting Criminalization in Canada "Ableism is embedded in Canadian criminal justice institutions, policies, and practices, making incarceration and institutionalization dangerous – even deadly – for disabled people." A book edited by Kelly Fritsch, Jeffrey Monaghan and Emily van der Meulen (2022, UBC Press)

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Caribbean

Study on Access to Justice for Persons With Disabilities in CARICOM Countries Published. See also part 2. (links to pdf, 2021, Improved Access to Justice in the Carribean)

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Costa Rica

Access to justice for people with disabilities in Costa Rica: still a challenge. (In Spanish, Aug, Delfino)

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Dominican Republic

Guide for judges and officials in dignified treatment in access to justice of disabled people, LGBTIQ+ and migrants. (In Spanish, Mar, Acento)

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El Salvador

Mother reports that her son was detained by police for “making signs”. The deaf son uses sign-language to communicate, and the police claim that “mysterious signs” were “alluding to gangs”. (In Spanish, Jan, La Prensa)

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Mexico

Mexico City eliminates guardianship for adults and adopts a model of supported decision making, bringing its civil code in line with new national legislation. (In Spanish, Aug, Yo También)

Interview with Deciding is my Right a coalition of organizations that advocated for a law establishing full legal capacity. Asked why they focussed on all individuals, not just persons with disabilities:

“We need to see the bigger picture: The recognition of legal status and legal capacity is a human right, it is universal, and it should not be attached to specific groups. Every person, simply by virtue of being a person, has the right to exercise such capacity, to make decisions autonomously. If support is needed, support can certainly be provided. But the decision rests with the person. There is no reason to replace it with substitute decision-making.” (2023, Human Rights Watch)

Two brothers imprisoned because of their disability their intellectual disabilities a primary factor in how they were treated by police. (In Spanish, 2023, Yo También)

Congress approves a new civil and family code that ends the legal position identifying some disabled people as minors. (2023, El País)

The right for all persons to decide over their own lives. (In Spanish, 2023, Yo También)

Manual on Justice and Persons with Disabilities a reference for judges and others in the legal system to apply a rights-based approach to disability. See also a launch event on youtube. (in Spanish, 2021, Supreme Court)

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United States

Disability rights and disability justice in prison: the limits of state-protected rights and the possibilities of mutual support:

“the research subjects not only revealed the limits of disability rights in prison, but ways in which corrections officers used accommodations and personal assistance as means of harassing disabled inmates. Despite the failure of rights, persons with disabilities and their allies found ways to access care through mutual relationships and informal networks. This finding supports a disability justice perspective that argues that argues state-sponsored rights have failed specifically marginalized persons with disabilities, but also argues that disability emancipation can be found through peer-based mutual care.” (Sep, Disability & Society)

The Supreme Court just opened the door to the criminalization of disability. “the Supreme Court just held that people experiencing homelessness could be subject to criminal and civil penalties for sleeping in public spaces”:

“Data reveals that 78 percent of homeless people report having mental health conditions, and an estimated 52 percent of homeless adults in shelters nationwide have a disability.” (Jul, Slate)

This Judge Is Blind. He Wishes Our Justice System Were, Too. “In a new memoir, David S. Tatel recounts a remarkable career as a civil rights lawyer and federal judge, and the challenges of contending with the disease that took his vision.” (Jun, New York Times)

New York prisons are illegally subjecting disabled people to solitary (May, Prism)

Disability Justice and the Coalition to Stop Cop City (May, Narrative Initiative)

Cop City Is a Disability Justice Issue, Too “Disability justice activists are joining grassroots efforts to shut down Atlanta’s Cop City, the largest police training campus in the U.S.” (Mar, Yes!)

Long-Term Solutions to the Overincarceration of People With Mental Health Disabilities “Policymakers must focus on long-term structural changes in order to reduce the negative interactions of people with mental health disabilities with police.” (Jan, CAP 20)

Prisoners with dementia “One image has especially haunted me: that of a prisoner who, as a result of cognitive impairment, no longer remembers his crimes — but is still being punished for them.” (2023, New York Times)

Decades after state institutions shut down, their history could shape the country’s approach to prisons:

“Decarceration efforts led to the closure of psychiatric hospitals and large facilities that warehoused people with disabilities. Activists against mass incarceration can learn from the past.” (2023, 19th News)

For Deaf People in Prison, FCC Mandates Videophone Call Access. (2023, The Marshall Project)

Will shock treatment finally be banned? “The fact that autistic students are still being shocked at the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center is unconscionable.” (2023)

House Approves Ban On Electric Shock Devices For Those With Developmental Disabilities. (2022, Disability Scoop)

Lawsuit argues the Americans with Disabilities Act should apply to transgender rights (2022, Washington Post)

Discussion on When an Intellectual Disability Means Life or Death revisiting the case of Pervis Payne and how a disability claim reduced his death sentence to life in jail after over 30 years. (2022, Undark)

A discussion about the relationships between law, political economy and disability (2022, LPE Project)

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Australia

At 14, Sam has the mental capacity of a five-year-old. So what’s she doing in a Queensland police cell? “Across the state, teenagers born with severe intellectual disabilities branded young repeat offenders are being locked up in adult watch houses. Here are their stories” (Jul, the Guardian)

Australian Teen Locked in Solitary Confinement for 500 Days. “Imagine being locked alone in a tiny cell for over 20 hours a day and for more than 500 days over a 744-day period. That is how Michael (not his real name), an Aboriginal teenager with an intellectual disability, spent most of his time in pretrial detention in the Townsville youth prison in Queensland, Australia.” (2023, Human Rights Watch)

Public Advocate leaves woman with dementia without heart monitor for 18 months. “The state controls her mother’s life. Katelyn’s fighting desperately to get it back.” (2023, ABC News)

Detainees with disabilities in 'spiral of hopelessness' “People with disabilities in the criminal justice system feel like they exist in a "black hole" after an international torture prevention body cancelled a visit to Australia.” (2023, ABC News)

Young people with a disability are overrepresented in the youth justice system. A study in New South Wales shows that "Factors such as age of initial engagement with disability-related services, remoteness of residence, and frequency of child protection contact were strongly associated with the likelihood of a young person with disability having criminal justice contact before the age of 18". (2023, NSW BOSCAR)

Report outlines framework for supported decision-making for people with cognitive disability. (2023, Royal Commission)

Report examines pathways leading children with disability from child protection into the justice system. (2023)

Trapped, stripped of assets, and silenced. And it’s all perfectly legal: a photo-essay feature on challenging public guardianship. (2022, ABC News)

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New Zealand

Alan Hall's controversial murder conviction set to be quashed after 36 years (2022, Stuff)

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Brazil

Outrage as mentally ill Black man dies in police car ‘gas chamber’ (2022, the Guardian) See also on Human Rights Watch.

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Colombia

ABC of Legal Capacity a podcast exploring the concept and what you need to know. (In Spanish, 2023, Asdown Colombia)

Documentary on law 1996 of 2019: “a path to equality”. The development and first three years of a law promoting legal capacity of persons with disabilities. (2022, Paiis Uniandes)

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Uruguay

Executive Bill Promotes Legal Capacity of Persons with Disabilities through a system of supports and guarantees. (In Spanish, Jul, Uruguay Presidency)

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