---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Nirmala Srinivasan <[email protected]> Date: 12 February 2011 09:06 Subject: Hungary: Parliament reforms legal capacity laws To: Vaishnavi Jayakumar <[email protected]> Cc: sudha kaul <[email protected]>, "Dr.Srikala Bharath" < [email protected]>, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], Sunil Pattanayak < [email protected]>, Alok Sarin <[email protected]>, Harsh Mander < [email protected]>, "Dr.Thara" <[email protected]>, Shantha Kamath < [email protected]>, [email protected], rita seth < [email protected]>, Rajeshwari <[email protected]>, ajit shah < [email protected]>
*you may recall Gabor's stay in India as a guest of Bapu Trust between May to Dec 2008. He had a busy lecture tour , part of which were the 4 official consultations of NT Board across the country in which he and Dr.Amita sensitized the NGOs and other stakeholders to CRPD. In fact, amendments to NTA which was the major Subject of the Workshop took a backseat. Obviously, the sensitization included Right to Legal Capacity and replace Guardianship with Supported Decision Making. The debates continued even in the NL committee discussions on Legal Capacity on Feb 2nd 2011. Such was the powerful influence of Gabor that even the New Law amendment of Sudha Kaul Committee reads in 9A.2/ 3* "All persons with disabilities shall if they so desire have the right to seek support to exercise legal capacity; and no person with disability shall be obliged to seek support." *Several feedback on this Clause by many of us endorsing the Rights perspective fully, have been ignored in the name of CRPD. In the course of my research on amendments in other countries, I thought of Gabor and logged into the website of his NGO, MDAC. Lo Behold ! Following is what I got and I am quoting it in full below. Dont miss the terms Partial Guardianship and Supported Decision making. All these done by the Courts and not any civil society outfit! One of the architects is Gabor ! Gabor has made a U-Turn I admire his honesty and courage to do what his country needs within the Rights framework rather than do a Cut and Paste job of the amendments. * *I sincerely request you to upload this in your group mails. I also request Poonam as Head of the NT Board and Sudha Kaul of NL Committee to reflect on the following and revise the drafts before the translations if need be to save money. * *I request the readers of this mail to believe the fact that UN CRPD especially Art 12 does not have a single universal definition. We must respect Rights to Legal Capacity at all costs. No question of compromise; but do not thro away Guardianship as anti- PDs.All of you ( including Dr.Amita) read what Gabor has done below. See how best we can follow the descipline , maturity and honesty with which the Egyptians replayed Gandhi. Let Poonam and Sudha show the way! * *READ CAREFULLY THE LAW IN HUNGARY quoted below. * best wishes , nirmala From: Mental Disability Advocacy Center <[email protected]> Date: Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 5:45 PM Subject: Hungary: Parliament reforms legal capacity laws Joint information bulletin by the Mental Disability Advocacy Center (MDAC) and the Hungarian Association for Persons with Intellectual Disability (ÉFOÉSZ) Hungary: Parliament reforms legal capacity laws : Budapest, 22 September 2009. Members of the Hungarian Parliament voted for a new Civil Code yesterday evening. In doing so they ensured that Hungary becomes the first country in the world to reform its legal capacity legislation in line with its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Hungary's old Civil Code was the piece of legislation which regulated a range of civil law issues. In the area of disability it allowed for the total deprivation or partial restriction of a person's legal capacity and their placement under guardianship. There were no alternatives to guardianship for people who required assistance to make legally-binding choices in their lives. Approximately 80,000 adults in Hungary are under guardianship, two thirds of whom are legally prohibited from making important decisions. Under full guardianship people were denied the right to a range of civil and political rights such as the right to decide where to live, which meant that the majority of people in long-term residential institutions were placed there by their guardians, irrespective of the adult's wishes. The right to marry and found a family, as well as the right to manage one's own property, to work and to vote were also compromised. The new Civil Code changes this legislative landscape. Highlights of the new legislation include: A legislative ban on plenary guardianship. The provision of a new form of partial guardianship: partial in terms of specific areas of decision-making, and partial in terms of decisions needing to be made jointly between the adult and the guardian. Supported decision-making, which is an alternative to guardianship. Supported decision-making means that the adult's legal capacity remains intact. It enables a network of supporters to assist the adult in making their own decisions, thereby enhancing their self-determination. Advance directives, whereby adults can plan for their future when cognitive difficulties may prevent them from making decisions without assistance. All of the above measures are available to persons who need assistance because of their mental condition, intellectual capabilities or addiction. This legislative reform marks significant progress towards Hungary's compliance with international human rights law, notably the CRPD, which is legally binding upon Hungary. MDAC has been working for the past two years in a coalition with other non-governmental organisations. The coalition has advocated intensively for guardianship reform and the introduction of alternatives, reminding the government of its obligations under the CRPD to include the involvement of persons with disabilities in legislative and policy reform. The coalition welcomes the legislative process leading to the adoption of a Civil Code that has realized the principle of "Nothing about us without us". Whilst MDAC and ÉFOÉSZ congratulates Members of the Hungarian Parliament, they call on politicians to continue to bring Hungary in line with its obligations under the CRPD. Included in MDAC's and ÉFOÉSZ's wish-list of legislative and policy reform are: Ensuring that the legal definition of disability is broadened to include persons with (or labelled with) psycho-social (mental health) disabilities (to fulfil the obligation in Article 1 CRPD). Changing the Constitution to remove the prohibition on the right to vote for adults without full legal capacity (to fulfil the obligation in Article 29 CRPD). Taking measurable steps to make real the right to live in the community by reducing the numbers of people in large residential institutions, and creating a range of services in community settings (to fulfil the obligation in Article 19 CRPD). Removing from the quasi-governmental National Disability Council the responsibility for independent monitoring of the Convention's implementation, and giving the mandate to the Parliamentary Ombudsman with an increased funding to match the expanded mandate (to fulfil the obligation in Article 33(2) CRPD). Ensuring that a Government minister oversees a "focal point" to coordinate disability policy across Government departments (to fulfil the obligation in Article 33(1) CRPD). More information For interviews please contact Gábor Gombos, MDAC Senior Advocacy Officer, tel. +361 413 2730, [email protected]. The English text of the relevant parts of the Civil Code can be downloaded from MDAC's website as soon as we have ensured an -- nirmala srinivasan(ashoka fellow) director, ACMI bangalore -india +91 9886031659 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Mental Health Advocacy (News 'N Views) India" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/MhaNewsViewsIndia?hl=en ------------- Affiliated Groups : MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY INDIA [email protected] Discussions on mental health law / policy / plan monitoring / human rights etc [email protected] India-specific news and views related to mental health [email protected] Information and support to carers of people with mental health issues [email protected] Mutual support and sharing of experiential knowledge, skills and social learning amongst peers
