A Case Study in the Globalization of Disability Rights: The Compatibility of Lithuania'S Process for Determining the Legal Incapacity of Disabled Persons with International Legal Standards

Abstract

Disability rights law has expanded over the past twenty years from near non-existence to developing into an international legal norm, particularly through the recent United Nations convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In this work, the authors examine the case of Lithuania and its process for determining when disabled persons lack legal capacity, as measured against the international legal standards applicable to this issue. The authors conclude by offering suggestions about how Lithuania may make determinations as to legal capacity in a way that is consistent with the emerging global legal standards on disability rights law.

Keywords: Disability, legal capacity, mental illness, human rights