Making the Shift in India
Inclusion International’s UN Project has supported the development of a project in India to promote the shift to supported decision making models articulated in Article 12 of the CRPD. Through the work of the Convention Action Team on Legal Capacity, II is providing technical support to PARIVAAR and the National Trust in the development of a demonstration project on SDM.
In the year 1995, India formed a federation known as PARIVAAR, which is a federation working for people with Mental Retardation, Autism, Cerebral Palsy and Multiple Disabilities. PARIVAAR is a parent organization with 70 urban, 42 semi-urban and 38 rural parents associations, which underwent support by India’s project to build its capacity to contribute to and promote the UN Convention with particular reference to Article 12 and supported decision making. To help create a strong support group, the project took
on partnership with: Parivaar, National Trust of India, Inclusion International and Canadian Association for Community Living. With partnered support, the project adopted an overall purpose of demonstrating how Article 12 of the CRPD can be advanced in India.
Guardianship in India can be appointed under the authority of: The Mental Health Act, Civil Procedure Code and The National Trust Act and certificates are issued to provide the authorized family member/relative powers to manage an individual’s property, finances and personal affairs, and provide for community recognition of this transfer of legal authority from the individual with a disability to a guardian. With this guardianship law in place, India’s project intended to provide the notion that more options should be available to individuals and families in the area of legal capacity and decision making and how supported decision making practices can take off in India.
Supported Decision Making Strategies in Hungary
Through our UN project Inclusion International has supported its member in Hungary, EFOESZ and other NGOs who have been working together with the Hungarian Government to advocate for changes to the civil code which would eliminate plenary guardianship and introduce a system of supported decision making (SDM). Klaus Lachwitz , Michael Bach and Connie Laurin-Bowie visited EFOESZ to assist in the planning for the project and to support the development of a pilot initiative to test SDM models.
In Hungary in 2006 out of a population of approximately ten million people, 66 203 adults were under guardianship, 44 812 of whom were under plenary guardianship and
19 202 of whom were under partial guardianship (of a general nature and of groups of matters) 6 189 of whom were under unknown type of guardianship.
The main regulations of legal capacity and guardianship can be found in Act 4 of 1959 on the Civil Code and in Act 3 of 1952 on the Civil procedure. According to the Civil Code in force, everyone has full legal capacity until it is limited or excluded by the law. These regulations violate, for example, the prohibition of discrimination, the principle of equal opportunities and concepts of necessity and proportion.
The project in Hungary was designed to advance the paradigm shift of the Art. 12. of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, which clearly declares in this article that disabled people shall enjoy “legal capacity on an equal basis with others”.
EFOESZ (Hungarian Association for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities) was established as an umbrella body for organizations concerned with the care and rehabilitation of people with intellectual disability. With a mission to work with and for people with intellectual disability to ensure that their rights are upheld in line with international agreements by cooperating with government departments and other stakeholders, EFOESZ’s goals have a central focus around the need to support people with intellectual disability. This goal branches out to ensure that those with intellectual disability have equal rights, equal opportunities and a say in decisions which affect them as active members of society.
Call for action. Dec-3 International Day of Persons with Disabilities