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.

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.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities builds on existing human rights treaties including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights. The UN Handbook for Parliamentarians on the Convention stresses that it is not intended to create new rights, but "clarifies the obligations and legal duties of States to respect and ensure the equal enjoyment of all human rights by all persons with disabilities". Its purpose is to: "Promote, protect and ensure the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity." The UK was among the first countries to sign the Convention on 30 March 2007. The findings of our recent inquiry on the rights of adults with learning disabilities showed that although UK law and policy on the treatment of adults with learning disabilities takes a human rights based approach, the day to day experiences of people with learning disabilities are not so positive. Ratification will send a strong signal to all people with disabilities in the UK, and abroad, that the Government takes equality and the protection of their human rights seriously. The Government first publicly stated that reservations to the Convention were being considered in its response to our Report on the treatment of adults with learning disabilities, in May 2008, more than a year after it signed the Convention. Despite the Committee's call for a full explanation of the government's views on the compatibility of domestic law with the Convention, the were then provided with little detail on the reservations being considered or the Government's approach to the process. The Committee considers that progress towards ratification of the Convention by the UK has so far lacked transparency and has unfortunately alienated disabled people and their organisations. This is unacceptable in the light of the clear Convention commitment which the Government intends to make to the involvement of disabled people in the development of policies and laws which affect them. This approach undermines the previous role that the UK Government has played in championing equality for disabled people and their leading role in negotiating the terms of the UNCRPD.

This report follows the Committee's first report of session 2008-09 on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (HL paper 9/HC 93, ISBN 9780104014165) in which the Committee welcomed the Government's intention to ratify the Convention but drew attention to proposals for reservations and interpretative declarations. The Committee was concerned that there had been insufficient scrutiny of these proposals, not least because draft texts had not been published, and that the Office for Disability Issues had not robustly challenged Government departments about their proposals. The Government laid the Convention before Parliament on 3 March, heralding the beginning of the ratification process. Four reservations and one interpretative declaration were proposed. The Committee has criticised the Government for ruling out formal consultation on these proposals and also drawn attention to the limited opportunities for parliamentary scrutiny and control of the ratification of treaties. Ratification should take priority over potentially lengthy and futile discussions about whether or not to enter reservations but the Government's approach to some of the reservations has been unduly cautious and may detract from the position role the UK has played in relation to the Convention. The Committee considers that the reservation relating to service in the armed forces is open to challenge as incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention. The reservation relating to immigration control is felt to be too broad, its purpose has not been adequately explained and so it should be dropped. The Government should clarify matters in relation to the reservation and declaration on education and should consult on how to deal with the treatment of benefits appointees.

This volume is a systematic commentary on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and includes analysis of its Optional Protocol. It provides an authoritative discussion on the CRPD and is a definitive resource tool for use in litigation as well as in formulating policy at the domestic and international levels.

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.

This book provides an in-depth examination of Article 33 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). It both analyses Article 33 of the CRPD and provides case studies on six EU Member States.

Looking beyond development, this volume examines international trade, investment and finance law with a focus on poverty.

In light of the third-generation concept of ‘inclusive sustainability’, the volume explores the architecture of global disability governance and its degree of harmonisation. The book integrates socio-cultural, economic, political and legal analyses from an international and comparative perspective. The first part of the volume outlines a tripartite systematisation of disability rights for States and non-state persons. In light of essential economic considerations, the second part explores the relationship between disability and specific fundamental rights and regimes, particularly the rights to life, health, education, work and participation. The third part takes an institutional approach and focuses on the way in which the UN and regional organisations regulate disability (rectius, different ability).

This book contains a collection of peer-reviewed papers presented at the Eleventh Biennial Modern Studies in Property Law Conference held at Queen's University Belfast in April 2016. It is the ninth volume to be published under the name of the Conference. The Conference and its published proceedings have become an established forum for property lawyers from around the world to showcase current research in the discipline. This collection reflects the diversity and contemporary relevance of modern research in property law. Following a foreword from the keynote speaker at the Conference, Queen's alumnus Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore, the chapters address a range of issues, from the nature of land law and property rights, through claims to the home and digital assets, to the growing debate on the nature of public property. Collectively the chapters demonstrate the vibrancy and importance of property law in dealing with modern concerns across the common law world.