Equal Rights, Equal Voices : The CRPD and the Pursuit of Legal Capacity for Persons with Intellectual and Psychosocial Disability

Abstract

This open access book offers a critical sociolegal examination of the rights of people with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, with a focus on the determination of their legal capacity in court and the wider consequences for their self-determination. Drawing on a research project undertaken in Portugal, the book features six stories and court cases of disabled people, as well as reflections on lessons learned from legal systems around the world where reforms on Article 12 have occurred. The lived-experience narratives are used to challenge the court sentences, showing how particular social contexts and power relations, institutional arrangements, societal reactions, and representations continue to hinder the realisation of human rights. An insightful analysis of the tensions arising between human rights norms and the principles enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, this is a timely resource to inform legal, social, and disability studies scholars and students, policy makers and activists, and guide needed change.