Townsville Community Law, College of Business, Law and Governance, James Cook University (WM), Townsville, Australia.
Faculty of Law and Justice, University of New South Wales, Australian Human Rights Institute, Ageing Futures Institute, UNSW (AB), Sydney, Australia.
Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2021 Oct;29(10):1027-1032. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2021.07.007. Epub 2021 Jul 29.
This article explores the nature and extent of barriers to access to justice that older persons experience, including those with mental health conditions. It finds that access to justice-the right to fair, prompt and responsive decisions by administrative decision-makers and equal access to courts and tribunals to obtain timely and effective remedies-is not only an important right in itself but also enables the enjoyment of many other human rights. Yet older persons, particularly those with mental health conditions, face a significant "justice gap." Ageist attitudes, laws and practices interact with other forms of bias such as mentalism, sexism, ableism, racism, homophobia, and heterosexism exacerbating older persons' disadvantage and marginalization, particularly those with mental health conditions, and older indigenous persons. These discriminatory practices, together with the phenomena of elder abuse, all severely limit older persons' access to timely and responsive justice. International and national standards, both general and specific to older persons, have been shown to be inadequate to respond to this justice gap. An international standard in the form of a binding legal obligation that specifically addresses older persons' rights of access to justice is needed urgently as part of a new international treaty on the human rights of older persons.
本文探讨了老年人，包括有心理健康状况的老年人，在诉诸司法方面所面临的各种障碍及其程度。研究发现，诉诸司法——即行政决策者做出公正、迅速和回应性的裁决的权利，以及平等诉诸法院和法庭以获得及时和有效的补救的权利——不仅本身是一项重要权利，而且还使人们能够享有许多其他人权。然而，老年人，特别是有心理健康状况的老年人，面临着相当大的“司法差距”。年龄歧视态度、法律和惯例与其他形式的偏见相互作用，如精神主义、性别歧视、能力歧视、种族主义、同性恋恐惧症和异性恋恐惧症，这些因素加剧了老年人的劣势和边缘化，特别是有心理健康状况的老年人和土著老年人。这些歧视性做法，再加上虐待老年人的现象，都严重限制了老年人及时获得回应性司法的机会。已经表明，无论是一般的还是专门针对老年人的国际和国家标准都不足以解决这一司法差距问题。作为一项关于老年人人权的新的国际条约的一部分，迫切需要以具有约束力的法律义务的形式制定一项专门针对老年人诉诸司法权利的国际标准。
