Description
Speach at the session "Capacity and Competency VIII: The Grey Area BetweenSupported and Substituted Decision Making"
Abstract:
There is general agreement that persons with disabilities must be treated as equals, and that supported decision-making is the ‘new’ legal standard that ought to guide treatment decisions within the mental health context. The precise normative content of article 12 of the CRPD remains a matter of significant contention, however. The Committee for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has made clear that lack of decision-making skills cannot justify deprivation of legal capacity. Instead, every scenario can be catered for with adequate support. The vast majority of States Parties to the Convention are opposing such a categorical rejection of the possibility to resort to involuntary or non-consensual treatment. In their view, the Committee’s approach is unfeasible and unhelpful in situations where, for example, the treatment preferences of the individual concerned are impossible to interpret or influenced by illness-related selfdestructive desires. My presentation discusses the tenability of these positions from a legal point of view, and offers a way forward. I argue that proportionality analysis tailored to the nondiscrimination context can assist us to move beyond the discussion of whether or not lack of decision-making capacity or increased risks of harm per se justifies involuntary or nonconsensual treatment in contentious cases.
| Period | 2017 Jul 13 |
|---|---|
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Prague, Czech RepublicShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |