While we recognise the importance of conflict of laws legislation as a means to provide legal certainty, avoid gaps and promote the uniform application of substantive international law including in the EU, we deeply regret that the proposed Regulation includes provisions which do not align with international human rights law and would lead to violations of the rights of persons with disabilities.
The EU and all its Member States ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
Despites the CRPD being mentioned in the recital of the proposed regulation, several binding provisions are not in line with the obligations set by the Convention.
To ensure that the EU and all the Member States comply with the CRPD – including through its progressive realisation which is taking place through legal reform of decision-making regimes in several Member States – we proposed amendments to the following articles:
- Amend article 2 on the scope to avoid legitimation of legal incapacitation and take into account the evolution of legislation and policy on legal capacity in EU Member States
- Amend article 3 on definition to include the concept of will and preferences of the person
- Amend article 13 on no review as to the substance to ensure the highest level of protection of the autonomy of adults
- Delete article 21 on placement which violate the fundamental rights of persons with disabilities
We also propose amendments to the recitals based on the CRPD and how it should be interpreted in relation to the 2000 Convention on the international protection of adults and the Regulation.
If proposed amendments are accepted, adjustments will be necessary in the remaining provisions of the Regulation, so that for example, the European Certificate of Representation may apply to the supported decision-making regimes. EDF can support the adjustments by providing additional proposals.
We call on the EU institutions and all EU Member States to promote and protect the rights of all in line with the CRPD, recalling their commitments made in the Council Conclusions on the Protection of Vulnerable Adults across the European Union adopted in 2021.