REAL
PARTICIPATION – SUPPORTIVE DECISION MAKING AS A
NOVEL
LEGAL TOOL
Y.
Tolub
Even though it is
one of the most important issues, the right of people
with disabilities
to autonomy, self determination and complete legal
capacity
(particularly people with cognitive and mental disabilities),
has not yet become
part of the canon of disability rights. The Israeli
law on guardianship
and legal capacity is old and out-dated and its
application by
Family Courts is problematic. I would like to claim that
the use of
guardianship and all the more so, limiting the legal capacity
of a person with a
disability, is one of the major barriers to real
inclusion of people
with disabilities in society. Inclusion in this sense is
not only the open
presence of people with disabilities within society
but also the real
participation of people with disabilities in social
activity. The basis
of equal participation is recognition of one's human
personhood and
citizenship; such recognition is complete only when
he/she is free to
make his/her own decisions and thus enjoy full legal
capacity. Following
in the footsteps of the UN Convention on the
Rights of People
with Disabilities (CRPD) and of progressive legal
systems (Canada and Sweden
Decision Making'
into current Israeli law as a practical tool that can
help bring about a
significant change in the way people with disability
are viewed within
society. Finally, I would like to address existing legal
tools that can help
minimize the use of guardianship and maximize the
presence of people
with disabilities as part of society.
No comments:
Post a Comment