Human rights and unfitness to plead laws

What is it about?

This paper is about laws in which accused persons with disabilities are deemed 'unfit to plead' or 'unfit to stand trial'. The article considers the human rights obligations of governments in relation to unfitness to stand trial law, including the possibility that such laws need to be abolished. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities might require that such 'special defences' are repealed in order to achieve equal recognition before the law.

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Why is it important?

People with disabilities are among the most disadvantaged and over-represented in criminal justice systems throughout the world. Human rights violations for this group are endemic. It is generally agreed that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities offers a blueprint for change, which can address some of the contradictions in law that cause disadvantage for people with disabilities (for example, so-called protective laws that can lead to indefinite detention for longer than if the person was tried and convicted in a typical trial). Yet, there has been very little work done to set out how the Convention might address the issues raised by unfitness to stand trial laws. This paper seeks to address this research gap.

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