The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities places disability
in the human rights discourse and, at the same time, enriches the common heritage of
human rights in so far as it is much more than a treaty concerning exclusively persons
with disabilities. It imposes a new legal construction of “disability” focused on
objective situations rather than subjective identities. Consequently, the notion of
“person with disabilities” which denotes the subject entitled to rights is presented as an
open and expansive concept, whose meaning goes beyond the circle of persons
belonging to certain and predetermined vulnerable groups. Besides, through the
“universal design” and “reasonable accommodation” strategies and the “nondiscrimination
on the basis of disability” clause, the status of “right-holder”, according
to the Convention, potentially opens itself up to a universal application. In the chapter,
the guiding principles of Convention are reviewed, underlining the importance of legal
capacity and accessibility as de jure and de facto prerequisites, respectively, for
persons with disabilities to be able to exercise their rights in a real and effective
manner.
Keywords: accessibility, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,
legal capacity, non-discrimination, social disability model.