Supported Decision-Making – Protection of Rights And Providing a Choice for People with Intellectual Disabilities

Authors:

Pages: 205-210

Abstract:

Supported decision-making is an emerging legal concept. This is due to Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which confirms that all people with disabilities have equal rights under the law. People with disabilities remain a group whose legal capacity is most often denied in the legal systems around the world. Equal recognition under the law means that legal capacity is a universal attribute, inherent in all people, regardless of the presence of disease or intellectual disability. Legal capacity is necessary for the exercise of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights (https:// www.mdpi.com/2075-471X/8/2/8/pdf). The Convention obliges the States which have ratified it to adopt a comprehensive approach in order to review existing legislation in the field of interdiction, guardianship and custody. The States also have to make changes to ensure that people with disabilities will have the freedom and tools to participate as equal citizens in society, and everyone will be free to manage their own lives. This makes the practice of supportive decision -making human rights imperative. This report presents the changes in the Bulgarian legislation imposed by the ratification of the CRPC and some good practices for the change of the guardianship institute, the custody and the regulation of the supported decision- making.

Keywords:

rights of people with disabilities, legal changes, supported decisionmaking.

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