Legal Capacity Under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Abstract

Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requires states party to ensure that persons with disabilities "enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others in all aspects of life". This column explores what is meant by "legal capacity" and and its consultant elements of legal standing and legal agency. It outlines recent research on what is meant by "support" to exercise legal capacity and explores the possibility of whether mental health and guardianship laws that allow substituted decision making for those with mental and intellectual impairments contravene Article 12.

Keywords: mental health law, substituted decision making, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, legal capacity

JEL Classification: K00, K10, K14, K19, K32, K40