International Forum on Legal Capacity and Supported Decision Making
On April 15 & 16, 2010, the Canadian Association for Community Living and the British Columbia Association for Community Living, in Partnership with Inclusion International and Inclusion Europe, hosted an international forum on legal capacity and supported decision making.
Summary: The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) recognizes for the first time in international law a right to legal capacity - to make one's own decisions in life – without discrimination on the basis of disability. It also requires that governments ensure people have access to the supports they need to exercise their right to make their own decisions, and that others provide reasonable accommodations in the decision-making process. This right to legal capacity is seen by disability advocates and human rights scholars as a 'paradigm shift" in the human rights framework to protect equality and non-discrimination for people with disabilities.
This international forum addressed the following questions:
- How can governments recognize the right to legal capacity for people with intellectual disabilities?
- What changes are needed so that people do not lose their rights and are placed under guardianship?
- How can families, advocates and community support agencies support people with intellectual disabilities to make decisions to pursue their own life path?
- What are the responsibilities of health care professionals, financial institutions, employers, and other parties in this area?