18 January 2023
The European Disability Forum (EDF), umbrella organisation defending the rights of over 100 million of persons with disabilities in the European Union, welcomes the call for evidence on the EU Justice Scoreboard 2024.
For the first time in 2022, the EU Justice Scoreboard included data on the arrangements in place to support persons with disabilities in accessing justice on an equal basis with other. This was a very positive step. This information is essential to assess the efficiency and fairness of justice systems in the EU, but also to evaluate the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), to which the EU and all Member States are parties.
Regrettably, the 2023 Justice Scoreboard did not include any information nor mention to persons with disabilities.
EDF recalls that the European Commission that it has an obligation to report on access to justice, as Party to the CRPD. It is particularly important as the EU is currently being reviewed by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2025.
The EU and all its Member States have the obligation to ensure equal access to justice of persons with disabilities (article 13 CRPD) through ensuring equality and non-discrimination (article 5 CRPD), accessibility (article 9 CRPD), including of communication and information (article 21 CRPD) and equal recognition before the law (article 12). They also have the obligation to collect data disaggregated by disability (article 31) to identify and address the barriers faced by persons with disabilities in exercising their rights.
In its list of issues prior to reporting adopted in 2022, the CRPD Committee explicitly asked about “the collection of data on access to justice by persons with disabilities, including on the respective use of the EU Justice Scoreboard”.
EDF renews its call for CRPD indicators to be included consistently in all Justice Scoreboards, similarly to the Child Rights indicators. Yearly information is essential in order to monitor access to justice by persons with disabilities across the EU.
Such CRPD indicators could cover the indicators related to “Specific arrangements for access to justice of persons with disabilities” included in the 2022 Scoreboard, namely:
- Adjusted ADR procedures
- Court survey on needs and satisfaction of persons with disabilities
- Persons with disabilities can be listened to in person and express their will
- Procedural accommodations
- Accessible digital solutions at first instance courts
- Braille/Sign Language/Easy to Read and other specific formats available upon request
- Information in accessible formats (e.g. digital and paper)
In addition, EDF recommends adding indicators on:
- Laws and procedures that guarantee access of persons with disabilities to the justice system
- Physical accessibility of the justice system
- Digital accessibility of services offered by the justice system
- Procedures for requesting and obtaining reasonable accommodation in court proceedings
- Training for all legal practitioners on the rights of persons with disabilities based on the CRPD
Related links
European Commission’s call for evidence on the 2024 Justice Scoreboard