Incapacitation as a mean of protecting the dignity of the persons with disabilities in the view of convention on the rights of persons with disabilities

Abstract EN

The institution of incapacitation is perceived in the context of the assurance of legal support for people who, due to the condition of their health and to other circumstances, require such support.

Pursuant to Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: States Parties reaffirm that persons with disabilities have the right to recognition everywhere as persons before the law (Section 1) and they enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others in all aspects of life (Section 2).

In this article, I present selected premises of incapacitation as protection of the rights of persons with intellectual disabilities according to the provisions of the Convention and the extent of their exercise in Poland.

I reveal that the shape of the institution of incapacitation in Poland remains in contradiction with assumptions of Article 12 of the Convention.

I discuss the criteria and the scope of limitations of a total and partial incapacitation.

I present an interpretative declaration concerning Article 12 of the Convention made upon ratification.

In view of the critical remarks made by the circles supporting persons with intellectual disabilities, the formula applied rarely represents a form of protection adjusted to the needs of such person, whereas it frequently deprives them of their dignity and legal possibilities of deciding autonomously about themselves adequate to their level of development.