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Recognising legal capacity: commentary and analysis of Article 12 CRPD

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2017

Clíona de Bhailís  and
Eilionóir Flynn
Clíona de Bhailís*
Affiliation:
Centre for Disability Law and Policy, NUI Galway, Ireland. E-mail: cliona.debhailis@nuigalway.ie; eilionoir.flynn@nuigalway.ie.
Eilionóir Flynn
Affiliation:
Centre for Disability Law and Policy, NUI Galway, Ireland. E-mail: cliona.debhailis@nuigalway.ie; eilionoir.flynn@nuigalway.ie.
*
cliona.debhailis@nuigalway.ie
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Abstract

This paper aims to summarise the current understanding and literature around Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). It provides a brief history of the key terms associated with the right to equal recognition before the law and encompasses both academic writing in this area and General Comment No. 1 from the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The content is intended to provide readers of this Special Issue with a general understanding of developments surrounding Article 12 so they can fully engage with the other papers within this Special Issue and with the content of the Voices of Individuals: Collectively Exploring Self-determination (VOICES) project as a whole.

Type
Articles
Information
International Journal of Law in Context , Volume 13 , Special Issue 1: Legal Capacity and Human Rights , March 2017 , pp. 6 - 21
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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Footnotes

We wish to thank the two anonymous reviewers and the following members of the Advisory Committee and Steering Group for the VOICES project for their valuable feedback on an earlier draft of this article: Tina Minkowitz for her contributions on the history and drafting of the CRPD and for recommending further readings, Elizabeth Kamundia and Mirraim Nthenge for sourcing materials from the global south and key clarifications on the concepts of support, Michelle Browning for recommending readings from the Australian perspective and alternative views on substituted decision making, Alexander Ruck Keene for his guidance on issues relating to the Mental Capacity Act and factual incapacity, Theresia Degener for recommending further reading on the history and drafting and Piers Gooding for recommending further reading and highlighting important clarifications. However, any errors or inaccuracies are the sole responsibility of the authors.

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