장애인권리협약의 관점에서 본 정신적 장애인의 참정권 증진의 과제

초록

Although any adult has become a person with mental disabilities, due to developmental disability, mental illness, dementia and so on, he or she can live independently in communities with the assistance of either attorneys of the enduring power of attorney or legal representatives appointed by a competent authority. However, such adults have suffered severe discrimination in the public life. In the case that persons with severe disabilities among them are under full guardianship or limited guardianship, about 300 legal provisions deprive them of rights and power, which make them participate in full enjoyment of public life. Although adults under full guardianship participated in the 21th general election held in April, 2020, it does not mean the normalization to restore the suffrage to them, because the Electoral Act, which has deprived them of the voting right under the legal incapacity regime before 1. July, 2013, accidentally remains unchanged to the effect of losing its validity to persons under full guardianship. On the other hand, the other adults with mental disabilities have suffered many restraints in terms of fully participating in the public life. Especially their access to the vote procedure, on which the legitimacy of the government is supposed to be based, is significantly weak. Easy read vote materials have not been provided for, participation of persons with mental disabilities in the election discussions has not been guaranteed, and promoting their rights to be elected has never been on the agenda. This paper discusses the necessity of promoting the access of persons with mental disabilities to election with reasonable accommodation, from the perspective of UN disability convention. For this purpose, this paper analyzes the developments of international human rights of the persons with disabilities on the right to vote and to be elected through international human rights instruments, the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, and the communication of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In addition, this paper analyzes the endeavor by the Council of Europe and the European Union to promote the access of persons with persons with mental disabilities to elections with reasonable accommodation. Based on the such research, this paper proposes that the use by persons with decision making disabilities of (legal) representatives should be disconnected with their full participation in the public life such as election related rights, that helping building their community with assistance to organizing mental disability entities should rather be encouraged. This paper suggests the promotion of the access to the election information and the voting places, the encouragement of their candidacy, and their participation in the election procedure as concrete tasks.

키워드