EDF adopted a position paper on disability rights in civil judicial cooperation. This document was prepared to contribute to the consultation of the European Commission on Civil judicial cooperation – EU-wide protection for vulnerable adults.
The position paper gives an overview of the differences in legal capacity regimes existing across the EU, from guardianship to supported decision making, and how in cross-border cases the rights of persons with disabilities may be violated. It also provides recommendations to the European Union (EU) on the issue of cross-border legal protection of vulnerable adults and the use of the 2000 Hague Convention on the International Protection of Adults.
EDF recommends that:
- The EU does not promote the ratification of the 2000 Hague Convention which in its current form reflects an out-dated and currently non-human rights compliant understanding of “protection” which has been clearly superseded by the CRPD.
- The EU develops measures to facilitate the abolition of substituted decision-making in all EU Member States, as well as to accelerate desinstitutionalisation, end coercive treatment and placement, and develop supported decision-making practices.
- The EU issues guidelines for EU Member States on cross-border protection on “vulnerable adults” based on the CRPD.
- Measures adopted to deal with conflicts of law and cross-border protection of “vulnerable adults” are based on the promotion of and compliance with the CRPD. States should prevent the application of legislation by another State in the context of cross-border issues and private international law when it does not comply with international human rights law, including the CRPD.
- The EU and its Member States systematically consult and involve representative organisations of persons with disabilities in all discussions related to the “protection of vulnerable adults” and measures that may impact the rights and lives of persons with disabilities in Europe and beyond.µ
Read the full position paper
EDF position paper on disability rights in civil judicial cooperation