UN Guidelines on Access to Social Justice for People with Disabilities

United Nations has recently released a set of 10 guiding principles on access to social justice for persons with disabilities. The objective of these guidelines is to break all barriers and confrontations which restrict persons with disabilities from ensuring access to justice. Human rights experts are considering these new guidelines to be an “indispensable contribution” towards ensuring access to justice for all. The guiding principles have been formulated and developed by the United Nations in collaboration with various stakeholders including States, organizations of people with disabilities, disability rights experts, academics, and others.

A practical handbook for countries has been uploaded by the United Nations on its website. The official handbook discusses the deal with each principle and associated guidelines in detail. The handbook released by the United Nations can be accessed here.

It intends to dismantle all obstacles and parallel systems that prevent people with disabilities in accessing the existing guarantees and rights like all other members of society. This valuable tool seeks to ensure that persons with disabilities access justice on an equal basis with others.

International Principles on Access to Social Justice for People with Disabilities

Principle 1

All persons with disabilities have legal capacity and, therefore, no one shall be denied access to justice on the basis of disability.

Principle 2

Facilities and services must be universally accessible to ensure equal access to justice without discrimination of persons with disabilities.

Principle 3

Persons with disabilities, including children with disabilities, have the right to appropriate procedural accommodations.

Principle 4

Persons with disabilities have the right to access legal notices and information in a timely and accessible manner on an equal basis with others.

Principle 5

Persons with disabilities are entitled to all substantive and procedural safeguards recognized in international law on an equal basis with others, and States must provide the necessary accommodations to guarantee due process.

Principle 6

Persons with disabilities have the right to free or affordable legal assistance.

Principle 7

Persons with disabilities have the right to participate in the administration of justice on an equal basis with others.

Principle 8

Persons with disabilities have the rights to report complaints and initiate legal proceedings concerning human rights violations and crimes, have their complaints investigated and be afforded effective remedies.

Principle 9

Effective and robust monitoring mechanisms play a critical role in supporting access to justice for persons with disabilities.

Principle 10

All those working in the justice system must be provided with awareness-raising and training programmes addressing the rights of persons with disabilities, in particular in the context of access to justice.