Series Lucy, Nilsson Anna
School of Law and Politics, Cardiff University (
Department of Law, Lund University (
The right to equal recognition before the law is concerned with legal personality – the ability to bear rights and duties under law, and legal capacity – whether and how one can exercise, claim or defend those rights, and the assumption of legal liability. Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is concerned with how legal systems themselves enable and disable people as legal actors. In the view of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (‘CRPD Committee’) and many of those involved in negotiating article 12, it introduces a new paradigm of ‘universal legal capacity’, that cannot be limited on grounds of disability or mental incapacity. The CRPD Committee maintains that this requires the abolition of all forms of substitute decision making. This interpretation of article 12 is contested in the literature, but for many involved in the disability movement, ending guardianship and other forms of substitute decision making is central to wider advocacy goals of ending institutionalisation, forced treatment, and loss of fundamental citizenship rights such as the ability to vote, marry and own property.
在法律面前获得平等承认的权利涉及法律人格——即在法律上承担权利和义务的能力，以及法律行为能力——即一个人是否以及如何能够行使、主张或捍卫这些权利，以及承担法律责任。《联合国残疾人权利公约》（CRPD）第十二条关注的是法律制度本身如何使人们成为或无法成为法律行为主体。根据联合国残疾人权利委员会（“CRPD委员会”）以及许多参与第十二条谈判的人的观点，该条引入了一种“普遍法律行为能力”的新范式，这种能力不能因残疾或精神无行为能力而受到限制。CRPD委员会坚持认为，这需要废除所有形式的替代决策。对第十二条的这种解释在文献中存在争议，但对于许多参与残疾运动的人来说，结束监护和其他形式的替代决策是更广泛的倡导目标的核心，这些目标包括结束机构化、强制治疗以及丧失基本公民权利，如投票、结婚和拥有财产的能力。
