This book investigates the implementation of disability rights and duties in the European Union, aiming to understand its functioning and explore ways forward through a critical analysis of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) within the context of international regulation. Along the lines of the integration of fundamental rights within the common market, the EU has indeed progressively adopted meaningful regulation to advance disability rights, which are now essentially shaped by the CRPD. The research considers the interaction between law and policy at the international, EU and Member States’ level, focusing on three essential elements, including the sources of disability law, institutional mechanisms and substantive regulation. Grounded in the distinction between primary rules on law-making and secondary norms on enforcement, the analysis unfolds against the background of the ‘twin’ transitions on sustainability and digitalisation and encompasses the Council of Europe system, particularly in the light of the foreseeable accession of the EU to the European Convention on Human Rights. Arguably, following the progressive development it has facilitated in other regulatory areas, the Court of Justice of the European Union can provide a decisive contribution to advancing inclusiveness for people with disabilities in the Union. The book is a useful resource for practitioners, policymakers, academics, students, researchers and anyone interested in EU and international disability law and politics.

This Commentary provides the first comprehensive legal article-by-article analysis of the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The Convention is the key international human rights instrument exclusively devoted to persons with disabilities and the centerpiece of international efforts to address inequalities and barriers they encounter to the full enjoyment of human rights. The book discusses the Convention’s position within existing international human rights law and within the framework of the United Nations measures to protect the rights of people with disabilities. Starting with the background of all the Convention’s articles, including the travaux préparatoires, this Commentary examines each provision’s substance and interpretation, and explores the significance of each right, its legal scope and relationship with other international legal norms and principles. A unique contribution also analyzes the Optional Protocol to the Convention. In addition to enriching academic studies of international human rights law, the book provides insights into the practical operation of the Convention’s provisions by assessing the practice of the CRPD Committee, the activities of relevant international and regional human rights bodies in enforcing the rights of persons with disabilities and the contracting parties’ implementation practices. Relevant European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Justice of the European Union and, if appropriate, other regional jurisdictions’ case law, as well as the jurisprudence of domestic courts, are taken into consideration. Contributions from leading scholars and international experts make this book an indispensable resource for lawyers, academics, students, journalists, international organizations, NGOs and other stakeholders wanting to better understand the rights of people with disabilities. Furthermore, it makes a valuable contribution to appraising the impact of the Convention in the legal orders of contracting parties and to charting the way forward in the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities.

This Research Handbook comes at an opportune time, and provides a comprehensive and wide-ranging exploration of relevant developments concerning disability rights at EU level. It also looks beyond the EU, focusing on how disability has been relevant in EU external relations. In addition, the Research Handbook considers the interface between EU disability law and Council of Europe law.

The first textbook on international and European disability law and policy, analysing the interaction between different legal systems and sources.

The International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the first human rights treaty adopted by the United Nations in the 21st century. It seeks to secure the equal and effective enjoyment of human rights for the estimated 650 million persons with disabilities in the world. It does so by tailoring gerneral human rights norms to their circumstances. It reflects and advances the shift away from welfare to rights in the context of disability. The Convention itself represents a mix between non-discrimination and other substantive human rights and gives practical effect to the idea that all human rights are indivisible and interdependent. This collection of essays examines these developments from the global, European and Scandinavian perspectives and the challenge of transposing its provisions into national law. It marks the coming of age of disabilty as a core human rights concern.

This Ability is Cotter's third book in a series dealing with discrimination law. Having looked at the theme of 'gender discrimination' in Gender Injustice and 'race discrimination' in Race Matters, this further installment takes a similar approach and structure to illustrate comparisons and contradictions in discrimination law. Disability Law is an increasingly important area in combating disability discrimination. This Ability provides readers with a better understanding of the issue of inequality and aims to increase the likelihood of achieving equality at both the national and international levels for those with disabilities while at the same time educating those without disabilities. The work examines the primary role of legislation and its impact on the court process. It also discusses the two most important trade agreements of our day - namely the North American Free Trade Agreement and the European Union Treaty - in a historical and compelling analysis of discrimination. By providing a detailed examination of the relationship between disability issues and the law, this book will be an important read for those concerned with equality.

This book analyses the impact of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on EU non-discrimination law and governance. The CRPD places the protection of persons with disabilities at the heart of international human rights law. The Convention is the first human rights treaty open for signatures by regional organisations, and the European Union favourably acceded to it in December 2010. Ten years after this historic event, this book explores whether the theory has been put into practice, and examines the effects of the CRPD on EU non-discrimination law and governance. This book brings together the practices of the European Court of Justice (CJEU) with regard to disability discrimination to show whether the CRPD is living up to its full potential to substantially improve the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in the EU. It examines whether the judicial interpretation of the Directive 2000/78/EC, establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation, does or does not comply with the new legal background delineated by the CRPD. In addition, it investigates whether the governance mechanisms underlying the EU Framework for promoting, protecting and monitoring the CRPD are effectively fostering the implementation of the CRPD and the role of civil society. The prohibition of discrimination on grounds of disability has undergone substantial changes and developments since it was first introduced under international and EU law. This book highlights the main changes to disability discrimination which have occurred in the EU legal order in the last ten years. The book will be of interest to academics, law students and legal practitioners working in the field of EU non-discrimination and equality law.

Introduced in 2008, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has existed for nearly a decade. This comprehensive study examines how courts in thirteen different jurisdictions make use of the Convention. The first sustained comparative international law analysis of the CRPD, Waddington and Lawsons ground breaking text illuminates the intersection between human rights law, disability law and international law through an examination of the role of courts. The first part of the book contains chapters specific to each jurisdiction. The second part consists of comparative chapters which draw on the rich analysis of the jurisdiction-specific chapters. These chapters reflect on emerging patterns of judicial usage and interpretation of the CRPD and on the wider implications for human rights theory and the nascent field of international comparative human rights law. This volume is a vital and thought-provoking addition to the literature on comparative international law and disability rights.

Being an ‘active citizen’ involves exercising social rights and duties, enjoying choice and autonomy, and participating in political decision-making processes which are of importance for one’s life. Amid the new challenges facing contemporary welfare states, debate over just how ‘active’ citizens can and ought to be has redoubled. Presenting research from the first major comparative and cross-national study of active citizenship and disability in Europe, this book analyses the consequences of ongoing changes in Europe – what opportunities do persons with disabilities have to exercise Active Citizenship? The Changing Disability Policy System: Active Citizenship and Disability in Europe Volume 1 approaches the conditions for Active Citizenship from a macro perspective in order to capture the impact of the overall disability policy system. This system takes diverse and changing forms in the nine European countries under study. Central to the analysis are issues of coherence and coordination between three subsystems of the disability policy system, and between levels of governance. This book identifies the implications and policy lessons of the findings for future disability policy in Europe and beyond. It will appeal to policymakers and policy officials, as well as to researchers and students of disability studies, comparative social policy, international disability law and qualitative research methods.

This treatise is a detailed article-by-article examination of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Each article of the CRPD contains a methodical analysis of the preparatory works, followed by an exhaustive examination of the contents of each article based on case law and concluding observations from the CRPD Committee, judgments from national and international courts and tribunals, pertinent UN and other reports, the key literature on the article under review. The volume features commentary from a broad range of scholars across a variety of disciplines in order to provide a comprehensive study of the legal, psychological, education, sociological, and other aspects of the CPRD. This encyclopaedic commentary on the CRPD effectively covers all the issues arising from international disability law and practice, and will be an ideal resource for all working in the field.