Emeritus Professor, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne.
Research Associate, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, PhD Student, University of British Columbia.
J Law Med. 2022 Mar;29(1):62-66.
This article provides an overview of recent scholarship calling for the defence of mental impairment to be abolished on the grounds that it breaches international human rights law. It outlines how differing interpretations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) suggest that arguments for abolition will continue to be contested. On a practical level, no Australasian law reform body has called for the abolition of the defence and it seems unlikely that government policy will shift towards this in the absence of such a recommendation from these bodies. However, highlighting the obligations on States Parties to the CRPD to ensure the right to equal treatment before the law necessitates a careful consideration of whether the defence of mental impairment is still fit for purpose.
本文概述了近期的学术研究成果，这些研究呼吁废除精神障碍辩护，理由是它违反了国际人权法。本文概述了对《联合国残疾人权利公约》（CRPD）的不同解释如何表明，废除该辩护的论点仍将存在争议。在实践层面上，没有任何澳大拉西亚法律改革机构呼吁废除该辩护，而且似乎在这些机构没有提出此类建议的情况下，政府政策也不太可能转向这一方面。然而，强调《残疾人权利公约》缔约国有义务确保在法律面前享有平等对待的权利，这就需要仔细考虑精神障碍辩护是否仍然适用。
